Three Things Pain Management Clinics Wish You Knew About Telemedicine

In this day and age, we know that we don’t have to put up with chronic pain. There are solutions for these issues, and many of them can be found at pain management clinics. In fact, many people today seek out pain management clinics rather than choosing simple prescriptions for painkillers. This is in part due to the substance abuse issues surrounding pain management; about 20.5 million Americans age 12 or older had a substance abuse issue in 2015, and 2 million of those had a substance abuse disorder involving prescription painkillers. Comparatively, 591,000 had substance abuse disorders involving heroin.

But if a pain management clinic isn’t close to you, or is difficult to access for other reasons, you may want to consider virtual telemedicine. If you’re not familiar with this approach, you may be hesitant to take it on. However, there are many benefits to trying it. Below are a few that pain management clinics wish you knew about.

1. Virtual Telemedicine Is Perfect for People With Chronic Pain

One of the main issues that people with chronic pain struggle with is mobility problems. If you’re constantly struggling with pain, you may have a hard time getting around. Even driving yourself can be a major challenge. This is one reason why pain management clinics have embraced virtual telemedicine. Their patients are able to communicate through video conferencing, from the comfort of their own homes.

2. You Can Take A Combined Approach

You don’t have to take a split approach to pain management, choosing virtual telemedicine over in person visits. Rather, you can combine virtual visits with in person visits as long as local rules allow. Some patients split their time with 50% virtual visits and 50% in person visits. You can discuss with your providers what approach would be best for you.

3. Virtual Telemedicine is Effective

Much of what we know about pain management is dependent on patient reporting. Providers at pain management clinics need to listen to you, and they can do so remotely. You can still get effective treatments through virtual telemedicine, therefore. Your provider doesn’t necessarily need to see you in person, and if they feel that they need to for any reason, they will let you know.

There are many issues that you need to consider when managing pain. But you can trust virtual telemedicine.