Migraine Tip of the Month
As has been stressed in previous issues, an effective treatment strategy cannot be developed in the absence of an accurate diagnosis and, in the case of migraine, an accurate assessment of the patient's migraine burden. In evaluating headache and assessing migraine burden, the healthcare provider depends almost entirely upon the history provided by the patient.
This has been underscored by the necessary alterations in patient management resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. While at the GW Headache Center we have continued to maintain a weekly procedural clinic for patients requiring procedures or urgent in-person evaluation, we have shifted much of our elective non-procedural work to telemedicine.
Headache diagnosis and management lends itself particularly well to telemedicine, and results from an ongoing study being conducted at GW indicate that when compared to a face-to-face evaluation, headache patients presenting to the Headache Center’s clinics find telemedicine appointments to be at least as satisfactory and no less likely to lead to a positive treatment outcome.
Telemedicine is here to stay. Even when the current pandemic is but an unpleasant memory, many healthcare providers who specialize in headache will be using telemedicine to diagnose and manage their patients. You can help tremendously by being prepared for your telemedicine clinic visit. Any first encounter you have with a headache provider, be it in-person or via telemedicine, will proceed more smoothly and more likely yield a positive result if you are adequately prepared.
To assist in preparing for your first visit we have a modified version of the new patient questionnaire that we utilize at the GW Headache Center. Prior to your visit download and print the questionnaire, complete it, and have it immediately at hand when as you speak with the provider. If the opportunity exists, fax, or email a copy of the completed questionnaire to that provider in advance of the appointment, and it will be included in your electronic medical record.
The editor of this magazine has been using versions of this questionnaire in his clinics for the past 25 years and can testify to how much it facilitates provider: patient communication.