TestSTAT is your resource for assessing addiction risk & offering state-of-the art pain management & Wellness Planning
Opioid Addiction
TestSTAT's Pain Management Evaluation helps determine which of your patients are at risk for opioid abuse and addiction. In a 2011 study in the Journal of Addictive Diseases, 35% of 705 patients undergoing long-term opioid therapy for non-cancer pain met psychiatric criteria for addiction. Drugs like Vicodin, OxyContin, Percocet and morphine help tens of thousands of people bear chronic pain so they can function. But, no doctor wants to cause addiction while treating pain. This is real, as 1/20 of your patients without prior history of substance abuse/addiction may become addicted to pain killers and some may move on to heroin when their prescriptions are terminated.
Reduce the Risk
TestSTAT computer administered tools can assess risk factors for addiction, and suggest treatment plans to accommodate all pain patients, not just those with high risk. Addiction to prescribed pain medication occurs most often in people with a history of opioid/drug/alcohol abuse. However, in studies of patients treated with opioids who had no history of abuse or addiction, the rate of addiction was 5%, or 1/20! TestSTAT's Pain Management Evaluation (PME) can warn you of risk factors in your patients for whom you are considering opioid therapies, reducing the risk of addiction.
Mental Health
The TestSTAT method assesses for the five most common mental disorders in medical populations; i.e., depression, anxiety, somatoform (now called Illness Anxiety Disorder) and differentiates it from Somatic Symptom Disorder (was Pain Disorder), alcohol, and eating disorders. All of these problems are especially relevant in pain patients, as they inter-act with pain causing, exacerbating or resulting from pain. An effective pain management program can not ignore these mental conditions.
Wellness Treatment Planning
A good pain treatment program is motivating (i.e., one a patient sticks with). It starts with an assessment of a patient's interests, lifestyle and overall health all of which are evaluated by TestSTAT. The resulting treatment plan should take into account all aspects of the individual, not just their "pain." The focus should not be on drugs, but on social factors, life satisfaction, and other parts of patients' lives. We can help you assess, plan and develop wellness-based treatment options both in and out of your practice, complementing medication therapies, because a comprehensive program is best approach. Not insignificant is the fact that TestSTAT tools can also bring in additional cash revenue to any pain management or general medical practice.
Get Reimbursed, Too
TestSTAT's computer administered tests are billable (CPT codes 96102 and 96103). The 2013 approximate national Medicare payment was $70/hour for monitored (by your staff) testing, and two or more tests can be administered within the same hour to multiple patients, increasing the income rate. Save effort and time, prepare for audits and even prevent Medicare penalties as the TestSTAT procedure builds in 8 PQRS measures, six of which are “cross-cutting” over multiple clinical specialties.
You can skip, for now, the historical background, explanations of FDA and DEA pressures on doctors and wellness rationales that follow, and go directly to what TestSTAT’s instrument does by clicking here: TestSTAT Assessment.