**RebalanceMD trial now completed – for reference only
Resilience For Surgery & General Health
We want to support our patients to be as healthy as possible for their surgery date while on the wait list.
There are many ways to improve a person’s physical and mental resilience, which can greatly impact recovery from surgery and overall health. RebalanceMD has already enlisted internal medicine consultants, and anesthesiologists to see patients preoperatively to optimize any medical illnesses and identify potential issues for anesthesia. In the last year, RebalanceMD has introduced a smoking cessation clinic. This is one of the most important preoperative interventions; quitting smoking before surgery helps your tissues and bones heal more quickly and more completely, as well as decreasing risk of lung problems and blood clots.
More recently, we have begun to look at other ways to help optimize our patients’ health before coming to surgery in order to improve recovery and postoperative function. We had hoped to bring you new options to explore in person at ReblanceMD. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are unable to offer these programs in person currently. We are instead looking at ways to introduce some of these supports virtually.
So here is the beginning of our Presurgical Resilience Optimization Project, or PROP. Please explore the links below and try out some of the suggestions. We hope you will find some useful “props” to support you during this challenging time.
Some Good News:
There are many things you can do to improve your pain, your function, and your overall health while you are waiting for surgery. Some of these ideas may seem counter-intuitive, or even a bit strange to you. They don’t work immediately and require some consistent practice on your part. However, there is plenty of research evidence to support how these practices can improve your pain. The wonderful side effect is that they may also help you manage your stress better, always a helpful thing and especially helpful in our current stressful times.
Click on the links below for ideas of things you can do, and resources to help you introduce some positive changes any time in your life.
In summary, we hope this information is helpful to you. Consider picking one or two areas to explore, check out the resources, and start experimenting to see what works for you. We hope to expand our ability to support our patients virtually in the near future, and in person as soon as we are able.
Remember during this time of physical distancing, that social connection is strongly related to health and happiness. Reach out to friends and family, even if you have to use a computer or phone to do it. Be well!
Thank you for trusting us to care for your patient. All new physician consultations require a referral following MSP guidelines in BC.
See below for Referral Forms to request our Medical Services:
MUSCULOSKELETAL (MSK) REFERRAL FORM
A reminder that all musculoskeletal referrals require an attached x-ray report (current within 6 months) in order for the referral to be triaged. Information on preferred x-ray views can be found here: X-ray Views
PERI-OPERATIVE GENERAL INTERNAL MEDICINE REFERRAL FORM
ANTI-COAGULATION GENERAL INTERNAL MEDICINE REFERRAL FORM
Referrals are triaged every three to seven days. Urgent orthopaedic surgery referrals should continue to be directed to the on-call surgeon/clinician through the hospital switchboard at 250.370.8699. All other urgent referrals should be communicated via telephone to the specific physician.
In an effort to offload our local Emergency Departments and GPs during the COVID-19 pandemic, RebalanceMD is offering a clinic as the first point of contact for patients with urgent MSK issues so they aren’t sitting in emergency rooms. A referral from your GP/Family Doctor, walk-in clinic or online/virtual doctor is still required.
Referrals should be faxed with “Urgent Access Clinic” indicated: 250-385-9600
Please read the detailed info by clicking “Learn More” below.
In order to provide timely access to care for your patient, we are piloting a First Available Appropriate Surgeon Triage (FAAST) model. In this model, you can choose to refer your patient to a specific physician/surgeon or you can refer your patient to the FAAST. FAAST referrals will come through a central intake and will then be triaged by an MSK clinician and assigned to the first available appropriate clinician. This clinician will be an expert in musculoskeletal care – either a sports medicine physician, a orthopaedic surgeon, a physiatrist or physiotherapist working in conjunction with a physician. The choice of clinician will be based largely on the information that you provide in your referral, thus it is extremely valuable to provide a provisional diagnosis, severity of symptoms and description of treatment to date. The FAAST will institute treatment, further diagnostic tests if required or expedited referral to a surgeon if indicated.
All MSP referrals are individually triaged for acuity and if a wait for a specific physician/surgeon is expected to be greater than 5 months, we will communicate that to the referring physician and provide the option of an earlier assessment with the FAAST.
Our ongoing collaborative relationship with Partners in Care and Victoria and South Island Divisions of Family Practice will enabled us to provide accredited CME events at RebalanceMD. Stay tuned for more information about our upcoming events.
Our experienced physiotherapists are accepting new referrals. While physician referrals are not required, they are encouraged. Our physiotherapists work closely with our physicians to ensure optimal care for your patients.
One Bracing is able to provide a wide variety of splinting, bracing, footwear and orthotic devices to help your patient. Although not required, referrals are encouraged to ensure that your patient receives the best care. One Bracing clinicians work closely with RebalanceMD physicians and physiotherapists to ensure that your patient is being treated with the most appropriate device. Please see our services for further information about the services offered.