Transitional Pain Service
The Transitional Pain Program provides pain care before and after surgery to patients who at risk of developing chronic pain. The goal is to prevent the transition from acute to chronic pain following surgery.
The target population inlcudes individuals experiencing post surgical or anticipated to have difficulty managing pain after surgery. This program provides individualized pain care plans and group treatment classes for patients prior to surgery and for up to 6 months post-surgery.
This program improves patient care and outcomes by:
- reducing the incidence of Chronic Post-Surgical Pain (CPSP)
- decreasing patient reliance on opioid medications via multi-modal analgesia and multidisciplinary pain management strategies
- reducing anxiety and fear of movement post-surgery
- improving patient functional outcomes and quality of recovery after surgery
How to Refer
Pre-Operative
- Signed surgical consent form with a planned date of surgery
- Average pain score of 4 out of 10, or max pain of 7 out of 10 regularly
- PHQ-4 Overall Distress Score greater than 6 (anxiety or depression subscales greater than 3)
- Opioid use
Post-Operative Programming
- Must be referred within 6-months of surgery date
- Risks will include but not exclusive:
- Renewal of opioid prescriptions, or escalating opioid use
- Pain score above 7 out of 10 in the first 24-hours postoperatively
- Inability to rehab because of pain
- Average pain score of 4 out of 10 after 2-weeks postoperatively
Visit Alberta Referral Directory for more details.
Send an Internal Referral using the Ambulatory Referral to Pain Medicine, type CGY RRDTC TRANSITIONAL PAIN in the “To Department” section and complete order. Please include the “date of surgery” and “operation performed” in the comments.
Please complete the referral form and fax it to the service at 403-209-2954. Please include the “date of surgery” and “operation performed” in the comments.
Other
We use a team approach to provide comprehensive healthcare services including:
- Patient
- Patient's primary care provider and/or surgeon
- Pain Medicine Physicians
- Nurse Practitioner
- Registered Nurses
- Psychologists
- Occupational Therapist