Your first visit to The OHSU Comprehensive Pain Center (CPC)

Understanding expectations is an important part of your first appointment. We ask you what you expect during your visit. We also tell you what we expect of you if you receive care at our Pain Center.

We want to build a good relationship right from the start. We can do that if we understand your preferences and needs, and you know ours.

Your chronic pain evaluation takes approximately 90 minutes. It typically includes:

• Chronic pain questionnaire: this includes questions about your chronic pain history. We mail this questionnaire to you when we make your first appointment.
• New patient questionnaire
• A review of your chronic (long term) pain history.
• A general physical examination: our primary focus is on the specific area affected by your chronic pain. We examine you to find areas affected by pain, understand and confirm your medical condition or diagnose new sources of pain.

We might refer you to a physical therapist, psychologist or both at the OHSU Comprehensive Pain Center. They evaluate your chronic pain from the point of view of their specialties. Our multidisciplinary approach includes seeing a variety of specialists. This helps us provide the best care for your chronic pain.

If we do ask you to see a physical therapist, psychologist or both, you need to schedule separate 60-minute appointments with these specialists.

We may also refer you to:

• Other OHSU healthcare providers
• Your primary care doctor or other primary care provider, to see other medical specialists in your insurance network

We may ask other specialists to help us diagnose and manage your chronic pain. Your OHSU healthcare team meets regularly to discuss your situation and coordinate your care.