Q: Why have I been referred for a psychological evaluation prior to having surgery for a Spinal Cord Stimulator Implant?

A: First of all, most insurance companies require a psychological assessment as protocol before being considered as a candidate for a spinal implant.

Don’t worry, we know your pain is real. There are many psychological factors that affect your pain level and how you experience your pain. Some of the important factors include stress, tension, pacing your activities, strategies for coping with pain and other factors.

The goal is for you to receive maximum benefit from your surgery to control your pain as much as possible.

When you call our office to schedule an appointment, please have your insurance information ready to give to our office staff. If you have Medicare please let us know if you have a supplement. We will call your insurance company and check your benefits for this procedure. We will call and let you know what benefits your company has quoted to us. This information is an estimate and final determination will be when your claim is paid. Please watch for your Explanation of Benefits that will come to you explaining how your claim was paid. We ask that you take care of your part with either cash, Mastercard or Visa. Sorry no checks.  If you have access to a printer and can download the Pain Patient New Patient forms it will same you approximately and hour of time in our office. You will need the Registration Packet, 2-page Medical History Form, and Pain Forms.

Your appointment will take 2-3 hours.  After you see the doctor and complete the testing and questionnaires, you will be free to go and the results of your evaluation will be sent to your referring surgeon’s office.  This usually takes two working days.