Curtis Turchin, MA, DC, is the director of clinical sciences in the laser products division of Pivotal Health Solutions. He discusses the benefits of adding laser therapy to pain practices.
Q: What value does laser therapy add to a pain practice?
Dr. Curtis Turchin: The primary thing it adds to a physician's practice is a safe, comfortable therapy to reduce pain. Physicians don't need to worry about side effects like they do with injections or pain medications. There are more patients now who are seeking natural and less invasive types of therapies, so providing these state-of-the-art, safe and natural methods gives the physician a broader armamentarium of treatments. It also allows patients to see them as a more modern, holistic-type of practice, which is appealing.
By offering laser therapies, physicians don't have to stop doing what they are already do. It's valuable because a nurse can perform it and free up the physician to focus on other patients where their expertise is more needed, such as with injections or other interventionional procedures. It also gives physicians a first line of therapy that is easy and effective — they can go step-by-step from laser to oral medication to injections or other more invasive treatments.
Q: How can pain management physicians and other medical specialists use laser treatment in their practices?
CT: There are two types of lasers: cold lasers and hot lasers. Hot lasers are used for surgical treatment while cold lasers are used to to reduce pain. In addition, research shows that laser can improve the healing for many types of chronic and acute syndromes.. Our laser is in the middle — it is a very powerful laser, even though it isn't hot — and it can be extremely safe for pain management use. Physical therapists, pain management physicians, chiropractors, physical medicine and pain management physicians all use lasers for different indications.
For example, medical doctors specializing in pain management can use the laser for myofacial pain, firbomyalgia and other types of soft tissue problems where pain medication hasn't helped or the problem is so widespread that it is difficult to treat with an injection. One sticky problem is nerve-related pain, like complex regional pain syndrome, because there is little pain management physicians can do for these patients. However, laser therapy has shown to be very beneficial. In the area of rheumatology, lasers can be helpful for the pain of osteoarthritis and many kinds of arthritic diseases.
Q: You mentioned other specialists are able to use lasers as well. What indications do they treat with the lasers?
CT: Orthopedic surgeons can use lasers post-surgically because it reduces pain rapidly and can be used over bandages, glues, sutures, metal, plastic and implanted electronic devices. Thus, there is less need for pain medication and, according to research, reduced healing time.. Physical therapists, occupational therapists and chiropractors can use it with their patients as well. Lasers can be used to treat patients with carpal tunnel syndrome, back and neck pain, sciatica, plantar fasciitis, tendonitis and other soft musculoskeletal problems.
Q: How does the laser treatment work?
CT: Usually you spend about 2/3 of the time focusing on the site of the pain, and the rest of the time in surrounding areas. However, for some back pain conditions that also include leg pain, you would spend more time focusing on the source of the pain in the back instead of the radiating pain in the legs.
Postoperatively, it can be applied almost directly after surgery for wound management. Some surgeons — especially neurosurgeons — will use the laser during surgery as they are closing the incision because research documents that it helps the patients' wounds heal more rapidly. We've had a number of surgeons who perform total hips and total knees report their patients do better when they use laser therapy. The laser is safe because it isn't electric and doesn't produce a significant amount of heat.
Q: How easy is it for physicians and specialists to train with the laser?
CT: It's actually quite simple because there isn't any need to worry about burns or injuries. In fact, physicians can have their nurses or assistants perform the treatment. It only takes three to five minutes, even when performing the therapy on multiple sites. The billing codes are also structured to benefit the practice because physicians can bill insurance companies even when their nurses or assistants perform the treatment.
There are courses available for medical professionals to learn laser therapies. Our laser in particular comes with an instructional DVD and manual discussing the research and applications for the therapy. It's extremely easy — very few physicians or therapists have had any questions thus far.
Q: Do most pain practices find adding laser therapy profitable for their practices?
CT: Laser therapy equipment can be $4,000-$25,000. After the initial purchase, there really aren't any additional costs for use. Most of our physicians have reported being able to recoup the equipment costs in three to six months after purchase. The cost is quite low considering what they could earn from it.
As for billing, it's a pretty straightforward process. Physicians often ask what the most effective way to bill is because they can bill different codes depending on whether the therapy is used for inflammation, neurologic disorders, pain syndrome or other conditions. Make sure you have the right codes for the condition being treated. We do help our physicians understand how to bill properly when they need assistance.
Related Articles on Pain Practices:
5 Ways to Boost Collections at Pain Management Centers
16 New Pain Management Facility Openings in 2011
5 Best Practices for Pain Management
Q: What value does laser therapy add to a pain practice?
Dr. Curtis Turchin: The primary thing it adds to a physician's practice is a safe, comfortable therapy to reduce pain. Physicians don't need to worry about side effects like they do with injections or pain medications. There are more patients now who are seeking natural and less invasive types of therapies, so providing these state-of-the-art, safe and natural methods gives the physician a broader armamentarium of treatments. It also allows patients to see them as a more modern, holistic-type of practice, which is appealing.
By offering laser therapies, physicians don't have to stop doing what they are already do. It's valuable because a nurse can perform it and free up the physician to focus on other patients where their expertise is more needed, such as with injections or other interventionional procedures. It also gives physicians a first line of therapy that is easy and effective — they can go step-by-step from laser to oral medication to injections or other more invasive treatments.
Q: How can pain management physicians and other medical specialists use laser treatment in their practices?
CT: There are two types of lasers: cold lasers and hot lasers. Hot lasers are used for surgical treatment while cold lasers are used to to reduce pain. In addition, research shows that laser can improve the healing for many types of chronic and acute syndromes.. Our laser is in the middle — it is a very powerful laser, even though it isn't hot — and it can be extremely safe for pain management use. Physical therapists, pain management physicians, chiropractors, physical medicine and pain management physicians all use lasers for different indications.
For example, medical doctors specializing in pain management can use the laser for myofacial pain, firbomyalgia and other types of soft tissue problems where pain medication hasn't helped or the problem is so widespread that it is difficult to treat with an injection. One sticky problem is nerve-related pain, like complex regional pain syndrome, because there is little pain management physicians can do for these patients. However, laser therapy has shown to be very beneficial. In the area of rheumatology, lasers can be helpful for the pain of osteoarthritis and many kinds of arthritic diseases.
Q: You mentioned other specialists are able to use lasers as well. What indications do they treat with the lasers?
CT: Orthopedic surgeons can use lasers post-surgically because it reduces pain rapidly and can be used over bandages, glues, sutures, metal, plastic and implanted electronic devices. Thus, there is less need for pain medication and, according to research, reduced healing time.. Physical therapists, occupational therapists and chiropractors can use it with their patients as well. Lasers can be used to treat patients with carpal tunnel syndrome, back and neck pain, sciatica, plantar fasciitis, tendonitis and other soft musculoskeletal problems.
Q: How does the laser treatment work?
CT: Usually you spend about 2/3 of the time focusing on the site of the pain, and the rest of the time in surrounding areas. However, for some back pain conditions that also include leg pain, you would spend more time focusing on the source of the pain in the back instead of the radiating pain in the legs.
Postoperatively, it can be applied almost directly after surgery for wound management. Some surgeons — especially neurosurgeons — will use the laser during surgery as they are closing the incision because research documents that it helps the patients' wounds heal more rapidly. We've had a number of surgeons who perform total hips and total knees report their patients do better when they use laser therapy. The laser is safe because it isn't electric and doesn't produce a significant amount of heat.
Q: How easy is it for physicians and specialists to train with the laser?
CT: It's actually quite simple because there isn't any need to worry about burns or injuries. In fact, physicians can have their nurses or assistants perform the treatment. It only takes three to five minutes, even when performing the therapy on multiple sites. The billing codes are also structured to benefit the practice because physicians can bill insurance companies even when their nurses or assistants perform the treatment.
There are courses available for medical professionals to learn laser therapies. Our laser in particular comes with an instructional DVD and manual discussing the research and applications for the therapy. It's extremely easy — very few physicians or therapists have had any questions thus far.
Q: Do most pain practices find adding laser therapy profitable for their practices?
CT: Laser therapy equipment can be $4,000-$25,000. After the initial purchase, there really aren't any additional costs for use. Most of our physicians have reported being able to recoup the equipment costs in three to six months after purchase. The cost is quite low considering what they could earn from it.
As for billing, it's a pretty straightforward process. Physicians often ask what the most effective way to bill is because they can bill different codes depending on whether the therapy is used for inflammation, neurologic disorders, pain syndrome or other conditions. Make sure you have the right codes for the condition being treated. We do help our physicians understand how to bill properly when they need assistance.
Related Articles on Pain Practices:
5 Ways to Boost Collections at Pain Management Centers
16 New Pain Management Facility Openings in 2011
5 Best Practices for Pain Management