If you’re a medical provider and your patient has a spine-related injury, then it might be a good idea to refer him/her to a spine specialist.
Before you write the referral, ask yourself these questions:
- Can the patient return to work without exacerbating his/her back injury?
- Is further treatment for the spine necessary?
- Could the patient’s back injury benefit from a different type of physical therapy, or a different type of medication?
If you can’t answer these answer these questions, then it may be best to refer your patient to a spine specialist who can.
For more information, check out our “Spinal Injuries in Work Comp” episode of our podcast.