FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS WITH DR. LISA LICHOTA There are many questions regarding the many techniques and treatments for Pain. Meet Dr. Lichota, and read some of the most asked questions and answers.   Q: If I am considering an interventional procedure, are these dangerous? A: The interventional procedures provided in this office are very safe. The most common risks for all interventional procedures are infection and medication reaction. In 17 years and over 30,000 procedures, we have had only two infections in this office. Long-term complications are extremely rare and the procedures noted above have never resulted in injury to any patient in this office. Q: Do I need a referral? A: In most cases, we require a referral. If there are extenuating circumstances such as your physician left down, you do not have a referring physician, etc. you are more than welcome to discuss that with our schedulers or our office manager at extension 0 or extension 110 and we will assess each situation individually. Q: What can I expect from treatment at the pain center? A: Chronic pain is a condition that rarely is cured. Our primary goal is to improve your function and improve your quality of life. We have been very successful in this. Many patients and their families have told us that we have given them their life back and many have told us that they feel like they would have committed suicide because they were so desperate by the time they came here. Though not all chronic pain is that severe, we can help. It is not a reasonable expectation to be pain free, but rather to have your pain improved through a variety of management options. Q: Are the interventional pain procedures painful? A: There is some discomfort involved in any procedure; however, we give patients the option of using a mild sedative prior to the procedure. We numb up the area where interventional procedures occur and overwhelmingly most patients tolerate the procedures very well with minimal discomfort. Q: How do I make an appointment? A: Simply ask you referring physician to call and make a referral. They can fax a referral to (937) 439-4948 or call to make a referral at (937) 439-4949 and by prompt will take them to the correct staff members. Your referring physician will provide the information necessary and we will contact you to set up an appointment. Because we use advance scheduling and we have emergency appointments available when needed, we can generally schedule you fairly quickly. Q: What if I have a severe pain problem and need to be seen immediately? A: Request your physician to make an emergency appointment. We do have emergency appointments available, as noted. If you have an emergency or spinal compression fracture, your physician should notify our staff and we will work you in immediately. Q: Will I see a physician every time I come to the office? A: The initial consultations are always done by a physician, but a lot of our follow-up visits are carried out through our nurse practitioners. Our nurse practitioners are qualified and caring and the physician is always available for consultation. This expedites your care, makes it easier to get appointments, and reduces waiting time. We do not feel that care is compromised because we have given our nurse practitioners extensive training and we feel they are eminently qualified. At any time necessary, a physician is available to consult or see you at your visit. Q: Are the procedures and treatment that you have covered by insurance? A: Yes, most of our services are covered under insurance; however, prior to completing any procedure or providing any service, we obtain an authorization through your insurance whenever it is indicated. We have a full-time insurance and Bureau of Workers Compensation specialist on staff to make sure that your insurance covers the treatment you receive. Q: Are there other treatments available that your office does not offer? A: Yes, absolutely. We are very aggressive in utilizing outside resources. As noted previously, we constantly keep our finger on the pulse of the most advanced pain treatment options. We utilize outside referrals, consultations, and outside treatment on multiple patients for a variety of different issues. If there is a treatment outside of this clinic that will benefit you more than what we have to offer, I assure you that we will discuss that with you and make appropriate referrals. We are about treating patients, not about making money. Q: I have seen a physician who has told that he has a procedure that is not covered by insurance that will cure me? Do you provide those? A: No. Again, we do not provide non-authorized procedures. If a physician is requesting that you pay cash for a procedure, there may be a reason why insurance does not cover that care. Additionally, anyone who tells you that there is a very good chance that a procedure that are providing can cure you, you should turn around and run as fast as you can. We would be very leery of that situation. Our staff is up to date on all of the most current and appropriate care for your pain. If there is any procedure that comes along that is better, we are the first to provide that in this community. We have done so in the past and will continue to do so, as long as that treatment is appropriate. Q: Do you treat migraine headaches? A: Yes, we treat quite a few patients with migraine headaches. Normally we treat the more complicated migraine headaches who have seen both their family physician and a neurologist prior to coming to our office. There are a lot of causes for migraine headaches that relate to the nerves of the upper portion of the neck and the nerves in the front and back of the head. Many of those can be improved and treated successfully. Q: Do you treat carpal tunnel syndrome. A: Yes, we do. We have some of the most advanced treatment options including MYOBLOC, which is a newer option for treating carpal tunnel syndrome. There are many alternatives for patients, even if you have already had surgery.