Choice of Treatment Plan

As a referring provider, you may already have a preference for what type of treatment we will provide or avoid for your patient. We value your clinical opinion and will work hard to honor those requests.

 

Responsible Prescribing

Controlled substances, most notably opiates, may be used in the treatment of chronic pain, but they have significant risks. Even the most compliant patients who have done well on a stable opiate dose will require routine follow-up and surveillance. While some patients are not good candidates for opiate therapy due to unique risk factors, others may experience a lack of clinical benefit from this type of medication. Our job as pain providers is to put the patient’s well-being first, and sometimes that means having hard conversations about the avoidance of narcotic therapy or recommending a weaning period.

 

When opiates are prescribed, we will monitor each patient vigilantly including clinical assessments, PDMP queries, and routine urine drug testing.

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Expertise in Procedures

With more than a decade of experience treating patients in Texas, Dr. Liu and Dr. Engle are fellowship trained and board-certified in pain medicine. Their extensive experience in both injections and surgical techniques for the treatment of pain makes them the premier pain physicians in the Coastal Bend area. All patients will be educated on the risks, benefits, and the procedure(s) to be performed.

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Clinical Judgement

When you refer your patient for an evaluation, we will perform a history and comprehensive physical exam. Our physicians may recommend physical therapy, labwork, imaging, injections, counseling, or even a surgical referral. We will not repeat failed therapies when it is clear the patient needs something else.

 

Communication

We want to keep you informed of your patient’s progress. That means more than sending you a letter from the initial evaluation; we will send follow-up notes and let your office know when a significant change occurs in the patient’s care or condition.