How to refer a client for spine and pain care at SpineLUX

Who is a good fit for a referral to SpineLUX?

SpineLUX sees people hurt in car crashes, falls, workplace events and other accidents. Referrals usually make sense when a client reports one or more of these after the event:

• Neck, mid back or lower back pain that hasn't settled
• Pain, numbness or tingling that travels into an arm or leg
• Joint pain in the shoulder, knee, hip, wrist or ankle
• Headaches, dizziness, memory trouble or fog, which may call for neurology
• Anxiety, sleep problems or fear of driving, which may call for counseling

Clinics serve Irving, Houston, San Antonio, Live Oak, McAllen and El Paso. Neurology is available in clinic or by telehealth, with mobile EEG, qEEG and imaging studies available statewide. Intake is bilingual in English and Spanish.

If your client has emergency symptoms such as new weakness, loss of bladder or bowel control, severe headache, confusion or trouble breathing, they should call 911 or go to an emergency department first. SpineLUX isn't an emergency service.

What information should I send with the referral?

Keep it simple. Intake needs enough to reach the client and schedule the right first visit:

• Client name, phone number and preferred language
• Date and general type of incident
• Main symptoms the client has described
• Any prior treatment since the incident, such as an ER visit or urgent care
• Your letter of protection for the client
• Your office contact for records coordination

Your client should know you're making the referral and agree to it. Once they're a patient, release of medical records follows HIPAA and Texas law. That means a valid signed authorization from the patient before records go to your office.

Don't send diagnoses you'd like to see, or suggested treatment. The clinician will take a history and examine the patient. Records are stronger when they reflect what the clinician found, in the clinician's own words.

What happens at the first visit?

The first visit is a medical evaluation. A clinician takes a history of the incident and symptoms, reviews past medical history, and does a focused physical and neurological exam. If imaging is clinically indicated, it's ordered and coordinated through the network.

From there, the clinician builds a treatment plan. That may include medication, Class IV laser therapy, interventional procedures, orthopedic care, a neurology consult or counseling. It may also be a recommendation for less care, or a referral elsewhere, such as to an outside physical therapy or chiropractic provider, since SpineLUX doesn't provide physical therapy itself. Every recommendation depends on the patient's exam and needs.

How does coordinated care show up in the medical record?

Accident injuries often cross specialties. A client may have neck pain, headaches and trouble sleeping after the same crash. When those are evaluated separately at unrelated offices, records can be scattered and hard to reconcile.

Within SpineLUX, intake and records are shared across pain management, orthopedics, spine care, neurology, counseling and imaging. In practice that tends to mean:

• One intake history that later visits build on
• Imaging results that reach the ordering clinician directly
• Referrals between specialties documented with the clinical reason
• Consistent dates of service and visit notes across services

Good records are complete, consistent and honest. They show what the patient reported, what the exam found, what tests showed, what was recommended and why, and how the patient responded. That's the standard SpineLUX clinicians document to, because it's what good medical care requires. It's also what any reviewer of the chart will look for.

How do I request records and updates?

Send a records request with a valid HIPAA authorization signed by the patient. Intake will route it to the records team. Turnaround and fees follow Texas rules.

If you need a narrative report or a physician's opinion on future care, ask for it in writing. Whether a physician provides one, and what it says, is up to that physician based on the chart. SpineLUX doesn't write reports to fit a case theory.

How is care paid for?

SpineLUX is a personal injury clinic and accepts clients with a letter of protection only. The client still owes the bill, the LOP changes timing only, and the clinician decides care. Intake explains charges to the client directly, and you explain to your client how bills are handled at settlement. All services are offered in Spanish.

What won't SpineLUX do?

These limits protect the patient and the integrity of the record:

• SpineLUX doesn't pay, share fees, or offer anything of value for referrals.
• Clinicians don't change diagnoses, treatment plans or opinions based on a legal claim.
• No one promises a diagnosis, an imaging finding, a treatment result or a case outcome.
• Patient information isn't shared without proper authorization.

This article describes medical care and record practices only. It isn't legal advice and doesn't promise any clinical finding, opinion or case result.