During your INITIAL VISIT at the Idaho Pain Center, a comprehensive evaluation will occur. It is essential that you provide us, ahead of time, with as many of the following as you can:

Previous treatments for pain
Recent X-rays, scans, or laboratory studies
Pertinent medical records from other providers
A list of current and previous medicines, their doses, and how they worked
Your insurance drug formulary (preferred medicine list from your insurance carrier)
An accurate list of past procedures, surgeries, and medical problems

We will give you paper work or access to our secure website ahead of time to outline your current pain problems and history. The more information we have, the faster we can develop a plan to treat you.

You can expect the INITIAL EVALUATION, unless you are coming only for a procedure, to take at least 2 hours. If we need to contact other doctors to make decisions, we may ask you to come back for a second visit before starting active treatment.

You will be required to sign a routine “CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE” AGREEMENT. This is a common practice in pain clinics throughout the country. It allows us to provide you with strong and appropriate pain medicine while limiting potential for abuse or side effects. We encourage you to read it completely and clarify any questions.  You will be asked to adhere to its conditions.

If PROCEDURES are appropriate for your treatment, generally they can not be done the same day since most insurance plans require preapproval. Many procedures are done using light sedation. You will need to bring someone to drive you home. As a rule, most common procedures are completed within 30-45 minutes from start to finish.

FOLLOW-UP VISITS will last for approximately 15 minutes. We make every effort to keep appointments on time for your convenience. This requires that you come early enough before your scheduled appointment time to take care of any financial or insurance issues. Vital signs and an interval history will be collected. Your appointment time is that time you will be seeing the doctor. If you have problems which are complex and will take more than 15 minutes to discuss, alert the office staff ahead of time, and request additional time for that visit. If you are late for your appointment, you will be re-scheduled. Once providers get behind, it is very difficult to catch up and it inconveniences those who follow.  Please review the tab on office policies so there are no surprises.

You will be expected to pay for any deductibles and co-pays on your insurance before being seen.  Please make arrangements ahead of time.  Major credit cards are accepted.  Access to our secure website will allow you to enter demographics, medical history, request and check on refill requests, and schedule appointments.  We make every effort to ensure each visit is efficient and worthwhile.  Your cooperation appreciated.