Calgary Chronic Pain Program

The Calgary Pain Program educates and empowers people with chronic pain to achieve mental and physical well being. Using the Alberta Health Services’ core values – compassion, accountability, respect, excellence and safety – as a guide,  we employ evidence-informed therapies and a collaborative approach, in partnership with patients and their family physicians, to improve their function and quality of life.

Building on our Mission Statement and Core Values, we use the following as a foundation to govern our Philosophy of Care.

• We believe that patients are equal members of the care team, and should be integrally involved in decision-making regarding their care plan.
• We strive to ensure that patients remain empowered to self-manage their care. This means providing ample education regarding their condition, allowing them the autonomy to choose which elements of our services they need, and expecting and trusting them to take responsibility for their health.
• Our central focus is on function. Subjective pain ratings may or may not change as a result of participating in our program. All treatment modalities are evaluated in terms of how they impact function and quality of life.
• Our treatment strategies are evidence-informed. Where there is clear evidence of benefit or lack thereof, this will guide our practice. Where there is insufficient evidence, we will take a rigorous approach to evaluating potential treatments, based on the evidence available. Our program is based on close collaboration between team members, and integration with the patient’s treatment team in the community. All team members are equally important to the patient’s care, and equally responsible for the patient’s wellbeing. We will communicate clearly and in a timely fashion with each other, and with others involved in the patient’s care.