In addition to PRISM's wide range of rehabilitative and psychological programs, we offer a unique program called COMPASS dedicated to pain management.

COMPASS - giving direction in pain management

Comprehensive Physiatric Psychological Assessment Program
PRISM values a biopsychosocial approach to pain assessment and treatment. Comprehensive physical medicine (physiatry) as well as psychological, social, and environmental factors are considered in the evaluation of patients disabled by pain that is acute or chronic and non-oncological in nature. The evaluations of the physiatrist and the clinical health psychologist are combined into an executive summary that serves as a basis for future diagnostic, treatment and management decision making.

What type of patients are appropriate for Compass?
The inclusion criteria for COMPASS are patients with factors (both physical and psychological) that will permit a diagnosis and prognosis to be formulated. Patients with case managed care are appropriate candidates for COMPASS. Exclusion criteria include, but are not limited to, active suicidal or homicidal thoughts and severe substance abuse issues that need immediate acute medical and/or psychological interventions.

What is included in the Physiatric Assessment?
The comprehensive physiatric assessment includes a full history adequately assessed and reported based on records and interviews with the patient. The physical examination is focused, thorough, and quantitatively objective. The conclusions correlate with the findings from the history, physical examination and review of the laboratory and imaging tests.

What is a Clinical Psychology Evaluation?
Health psychology focuses on psychological factors, which contribute to, maintain and/or result from a physical condition or disability. The psychological evaluation seeks to answer the questions, "how do psychological factors impact this individual's pain condition, to what degree do such factors affect treatment and how does the pain impact his/her psychological adjustment and well-being?" This is accomplished through review of medical records, a clinical interview, and standardized psychological assessment. Through this evaluation, the clinical health psychologist contributes insight into the patient's pain perceptions, mood state, and vocational, avocations and social consequences of the pain. The degree to which psychological factors are likely to impact rehabilitation and the patient's ability to manage his/her medical condition are assessed. Guidance for healthcare professionals in working with the patient's particular style is provided, and recommendations are made for further intervention as applicable. The goal of the psychological evaluation can be summed up as yielding a picture of the whole person behind the diagnosis, including psychosocial factors relevant to the rehabilitative process.

What is the Executive Summary?
The executive summary synthesizes the information from both physiatry and psychological reports to present an outline of the pertinent findings significant to the patient's treatments to date, prognosis for future treatments, and recommendations for future treatments and management. This report is the collaborative product of the physiatrist and the clinical health psychologist and signed by both specialists.

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