If you are the victim of an accident, whether a motor vehicle crash, slip, and fall, or a workplace accident, you may need various types of medical and healthcare treatments. If you went to your primary care physician and needed referrals for numerous specialists, your treatment time would more than likely be much longer, and it would be inconvenient to make all those separate appointments.
Instead, consider going to a multidisciplinary clinic. This consists of a wide variety of healthcare professionals and support staff working together in multispecialty teams, and there are many benefits to this approach for injury care, including improved outcomes for many patients with car-crash-related health issues..
At Injured Call Today, we can quickly connect you to the healthcare specialists you need in your area.
If you have an injury, there is a good chance you would benefit from seeing a number of different doctors and specialists. At a multidisciplinary trauma clinic, you have access not only to primary care doctors but also to other healthcare specialists. You can quickly get the services you need to feel better.
Some multidisciplinary clinics have healthcare providers located in the same place. Others give patients access to providers that are conveniently located near their home, school, or place of work.
Some of the specialists you have access to include:
Although many multidisciplinary care teams are centered around the diagnosis and treatment of a specific disease or condition, including cancer treatment (medical oncology), there are also teams that are well suited for treating auto accident injuries.
It is important to have quick and easy access to various healthcare providers because accidents result in a wide variety of injuries. Costs related to a car accident injury may be in the thousands of dollars, and some of those injuries require not only emergency room treatment but also surgery, neurological treatment, or physical therapy.
Most of the costs are also incurred during the first year and a half following the accident, so seeking patient care right away is important. Common injuries and symptoms resulting from a car crash include:
Injuries related to workplace accidents also result in missed days from work and numerous treatments. Common reasons workers seek care include:
A multispecialty clinic that gives you access to a wide variety of medical and healthcare providers has numerous benefits. Choosing a collaborative approach for medical care is often better than going to individual clinics.
These days, you often need a referral from your primary physician if you need or want to see a specialist. Because everyone works together at a multidisciplinary pain clinic, you do not need to wait a long time to receive a referral. With everyone on the same team, the process is free from delays, and it is much faster to get in to see the providers you need to heal from your injury.
Because there is such as wide variety of healthcare professionals to choose from, patients get help with the different injuries they may have. For example, a surgeon may fix a broken arm, but then a physical therapist helps strengthen it.
A patient may need pain management immediately after a car accident, but then a chiropractor helps to treat the cause of the pain. By taking advantage of various providers for treatment planning, a patient usually has a higher level of healing.
One of the issues when dealing with individual clinics and practitioners is that they often do not know what other treatments you are receiving. In a multidisciplinary trauma clinic, everyone works together to coordinate a patient’s treatment. There is more communication among all the providers, and this results in more efficient care as well as better overall treatment.
Not all patients will require treatment from everyone involved in a multidisciplinary clinic. However, it is nice to have the option and access to numerous professionals.
A physician is often the first provider a patient will see. The physician is usually the gateway into the treatment plan, as he or she has the diagnostic tools to be able to determine what the injury is and what services the patient may need.
After conducting an initial exam, a physician may use X-rays, electromyography (EMG), computer-aided tomography (CAT) scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or other methods to figure out what is going on. The physician can then begin the referral process to the necessary specialists.
An accident victim may need the services of a surgeon. Whether it is an orthopedic surgeon for a broken extremity or a spinal surgeon for an injury to the spine, these surgeons are on hand for accident victims with a variety of injuries.
The brain and nerves control everything in the body, and the nervous system is extremely complex. Neurologists deal with issues related to the nerves, brain and spinal cord. A patient may see a neurologist for a variety of complaints, including ongoing headaches, brain injuries, numbness, cognitive issues, speech disorders and movement disorders.
Depending on the issue, a neurologist may recommend various treatment methods. One is to prescribe medication. Another is surgery. There may also be therapies or rehabilitation services to help improve brain function.
A chiropractor is another important healthcare professional to help treat accident and other injuries. Chiropractic also focuses on the nervous system, but in a different way than a neurologist. In a multidisciplinary group, a chiropractor and neurologist may work closely together to treat nervous system dysfunction.
The spinal cord begins at the base of the brain, and it contains all the nerves that control the body. These nerves exit at different levels of the spine. If there is misalignment of the spinal bones, this can put pressure on the nerves coming out, which results in nerve dysfunction. This can result in symptoms such as pain, tingling, muscle tightness and reduced range of motion.
A chiropractor analyzes the spine and finds the areas of misalignment. He or she then delivers an adjustment, which is a specific way to move the bones back into place. This relieves the nerve pressure and restores function to the injured area.
An accident is a type of trauma, and depending on the severity of the accident or the history of the patient, the victim may experience emotional distress afterwards. Multidisciplinary clinic-based specialists help patients deal with a variety of symptoms and issues that may arise. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is common after an accident.
Some of the symptoms and signs include:
Many people may have some of these symptoms initially after a crash, but they go away within a few weeks. If they continue, it usually means the person is suffering from PTSD. This can have a significant effect on a patient’s daily life.
A trauma specialist has the skills to make treatment recommendations and help the patient manage the symptoms and overcome the traumatic event.
One of the most common complaints from people who have injuries is pain. Although this pain may dissipate with time or a few sessions with a doctor or chiropractor, more serious injuries can result in pain that remains for a while. Whether it is acute pain from a major accident or chronic pain from years of injury buildup, it can have a big impact on one’s quality of life.
The main focus of pain management specialists is to relieve pain. A pain management specialist may even have a specific area of focus, such as migraines, spinal pain, arthritis pain or nerve pain. If a patient is not getting pain relief from one of the other multidisciplinary doctors, there will often be a referral to this specialist.
A physiatrist (PM&R) is a medical doctor trained in the area of physical rehabilitation. Physiatrists improve someone’s joint, movement and musculoskeletal function after an accident or injury. They can work with a wide variety of patients, and, unlike physical therapists, they can give injections and prescribe medication if necessary.
Physical therapists (PT) also help patients with rehab after an injury. They collaborate with medical doctors and other specialists in the multidisciplinary pain clinic to improve movement and balance.
They prescribe exercises and help their patients with specific moves to strengthen the body’s core, restore balance, decrease joint pain and help relieve tense muscles. A PT appointment may consist of muscle work, joint exercises, ultrasound or repetitive movement training.
