MEDICATION POLICY

In addition to providing the best available interventional treatments aimed at treating the source of your pain, many patients will also need medications to help manage pain.  For this reason, Dr. Givogre may prescribe medication.  One of the main goals of x-ray and ultrasound-guided interventions is to limit your dependence on medications, particularly habit-forming narcotic drugs. Some patients, however, may need long-term narcotic (opioid) therapy as well as anti-inflammatory and other types of pain-relieving medicines.

The following rules apply primarily to narcotic (e.g. Lortab; Percocet) medications as prescribed by the medical providers of Lanier Interventional Pain Center:

1. Your prescriptions are entered into the permanent record of your patient chart.
2. All medication must be used as directed by Dr. John L. Givogre at Lanier Pain Center or their assistants.
3. Lanier Interventional Pain Center does not prescribe medication for undiagnosed pain.
4. If medication was prescribed to accompany a course of treatment, refills will not be allowed until the treatment has started.
5. Authorization for refills must be requested on work days before 4:00 p.m.
6. After hours and on weekends, the doctor on call WILL NOT call in any additional prescriptions or refill medications.
7. You are responsible for your prescriptions.  Stolen or lost refills will not be replaced until the date for which they were originally scheduled.
8. Early refills are only allowed with authorization by the prescribing physician.
9. You must inform us of any prescription drugs you are obtaining through other physicians.  Failure to do so may result in discharge from Lanier Interventional Pain Center.
10. It is illegal to share prescription drugs and to alter or forge prescriptions.  We reserve the right to discharge patients engaging in such activities.
11. Lanier Interventional Pain Center reserve the right to discharge patients engaging in activities considered “drug-seeking”, such as persistent medication use past the period indicated by the physician; repeated visits to emergency rooms with pain complaints; and other activities in this category, at the discretion of the Lanier Interventional Pain Center physicians.
12. Patients who are unable to break their dependence on nicotine-containing products are not candidates for long-term opioid therapy as prescribed by Lanier Interventional Pain Center. Cessation of nicotine usage (including nicotine patches) will be documented by urine drug screen.