For Patients

Who is Northern Integrated Pain Management?

Northern Integrated Pain Management is a Pain Management Clinic based in Charlestown, NSW with 'Satellite Clinics' in the Central Coast and the Hunter Region.

At NIPM, we have what is called a Multi-Disciplinary Team. This includes our Pain Physicians, Exercise Physiologists, Pain Psychologists and Registered Nurses.

We know that some chronic pain issues are sometimes best being managed conservatively and so we provide facilities for this to occur.

Patient Forms

View patient forms

New Patient Appointments

A valid referral from either your General Practitioner, or treating specialist, is required prior to us being able to to make you an appointment.

Please send a copy of your referral with your Medicare and Health Fund details by email or fax to:

E: info@nipm.com.au
F: 02 4947 8991

Appointments are only offered once a referral has been received. We will send you an SMS once this has been received and you are in our system.

Please be advised that all private patients are required to pay a $100 deposit at time of making their appointment. This is fully refundable up to 48hours before the scheduled appointment time.

If you would like to get a head start on your paperwork, please click here and you will be diverted to the paperwork section of our website.

Correspondence handling policy

This correspondence policy is to ensure that we are handling correspondence impartially, proficiently and effectively.

Our email inboxes are not monitored 24/7.
We aim to open all correspondence within one business day of receipt, and respond, where required, within 5 working days of receipt.
Please note, if you have sent an email to our practice, you are accepting this as implied consent that you wish for us to reply via email, even though it is not considered a secure means of communication. If this is not the case, we ask that you send us a subsequent email revoking this implied consent and ask that we contact you via telephone instead.
If the response to all the issues you have raised is likely to take longer than 30 working days, we will advise you accordingly.
Unsolicited advertisements will be deleted and no response will be issued.
We do not tolerate abusive language or behaviour at this practice, this is inclusive of written communication and there will be no response to this.
Your correspondence, once received, will form a part of your patient record and we will be compliant with the legislation provided by the NSW Privacy and Personal Information Act 1998 and the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009.

Questions our team may ask you when booking an appointment

If this is your first consultation, our team will be asking you for all of your contact information, including your Medicare and Health Fund details.

We will ask you what the best location will be for your consultation, as we have 'Satellite Clinics' in East Maitland, Singleton, Nelson Bay, Mingara and North Gosford. Our head office is based in Charlestown.

Please note we do require a $100 deposit to make an appointment. This is fully refundable up to 48 hours prior to your appointment.

On the day of your Appointment

Your Consultation at NIPM

At Northern Integrated Pain Management (NIPM), we are a private facility that treats patients on an individual basis. We know that pain is not something that can be seen and needs to be treated accordingly.

We understand that this can be a daunting process and we aim to make this as positive and stress free as possible.

If this is your first time coming into NIPM you will be asked to complete some paperwork, this varies from our standard Patient Information Sheet to a more in depth set of questions. We will always send these out to you before your consultation via email, or via post if email is not an option for you. You are also able to complete these questionnaires online.

Before you come into the rooms for your appointment, our team will ask you to bring with you any scans, x-rays, results or anything else along those lines.

Important Information

Why Do We Ask for your Health Fund Information?

Unfortunately, being a private practice we do not have dedicated public clinics. We reserve a limited amount of appointments per month for patients that are self funded with each clinician.

When booking in for your consultation, we perform a fund check on the spot to avoid any confusion around this.

Unfortunately, not all health funds are the same and each Health Fund abides by a different payment schedule and so the fees for interventional procedures may differ based on this.

What to Expect at your Consultation

Your consultation at NIPM will be completely non-invasive. You will be meeting with the Doctor in the rooms to discuss your pain, how it affects your life, what treatments you may have tried in the past and what Doctors you may have consulted over the years about your pain experience.

At the consultation, the Doctor will create a treatment plan with you. This may be to see an Exercise Physiologist or Clinical Psychologist, it may be a trial of medication or even an interventional procedure. This cannot be determined by anyone other than the Doctor, as it is an individualised process that is personalised to the patient.

At the end of your consultation, the Doctor will dictate a letter back to your referring Doctor and General Practitioner (and any other providers that may be involved in your care). In some cases, your General Practitioner may be able to manage your care going forward based on the advise of the Pain Physician, this would be disclosed to you at your consultation as well.

It is important to know that unfortunately there is no cure for chronic pain, however there may be something that a multi-disciplinary plan may be able to assist with.

How Long Should I Expect to Wait for a Consultation?

The wait times for each clinician do vary, but you should expect wait times of 3-4 months as a standard.

We request a copy of your referral prior to booking so we are able to triage these. Appointments for urgent conditions will always be moved forward. Unfortunately, a medication review is not considered urgent. If these are an annual review, it is suggested that these are scheduled in advance to avoid disappointment.

Nursing Services

We have a team of Registered Nurses at NIPM. If you have seen one of the clinicians at the clinic, they may be able to help you.

Our Nurses are in the office between 10am and 3pm Monday to Friday, however this may vary during school holidays with our flexible working arrangements that we offer our team.

The best way to make contact with our nurses is via email at nurses@nipm.com.au and they will either be able to assist you, or point you in the right direction.

Interventional Procedures

If the Doctor consents you to have a procedure, you will be required to fill out some paperwork specific to that particular hospital. This is a legal requirement for EACH procedure you have done.

You are able to complete this paperwork with either a hard copy or online at your consented hospitals website.

Charlestown Private Hospital - https://charlestownprivatehospital.com.au/

Lingard Private Hospital - http://www.lingardprivate.com.au/

Gosford Private Hospital - http://gosfordprivate.com.au/patients/admissions

If you are unsure which hospital you have been consented for, please contact us on nurses@nipm.com.au and we will be happy to assist you.

If you have any questions relating to the admission paperwork itself, you would be best to contact the hospital direct.

No-show & late cancellation policy

1. POLICY

To maximise our efficiency in seeing patients, serving patients at their allocated appointment time is a requirement.

No-shows and late cancellations can have a significant impact on our practice beyond just financial implications. When an appointment is booked, it occupies an available time slot that could have been used for another patient. Additionally, no-shows and late cancellations can cause delays in healthcare delivery to other patients, some of whom may be dealing with serious medical issues.

2. PURPOSE

We schedule our appointments so that each patient receives the right amount of time to be seen by our physicians and staff. That's why it is very important that you keep your scheduled appointment with your provider, and arrive on time.

We appreciate your patronage and strive to provide exceptional service to all our patients. To ensure the best possible experience for everyone, we have implemented this policy. A "no-show" is missing a scheduled appointment. A "late cancellation" is canceling an appointment without calling us to cancel within 48 hours of a cancellation or 72 hours in advance of a procedure.

3. SCOPE

This Policy applies to all patients who have made an appointment with us.

4. REMINDER

As a courtesy, and to help our patients remember their scheduled appointments, NIPM sends text message reminders 1 day in advance of the appointment time. If your schedule changes and you cannot keep your appointment, please contact us ASAP so we may reschedule you, and accommodate those patients who are waiting for an appointment.

5. CANCELLATION NOTICE

We kindly request that patients provide us with at least 48 hours' notice if they need to cancel or reschedule an appointment. This allows us to accommodate other patients who may be waiting for an available time slot. Cancellations made with less than 48 hours' notice may be subject to a cancellation fee.

6. REFUND POLICY

Deposit refund requests within 10 business days of your original appointment will be subject to an administration fee of $10.
Refunds must be processed back into the patients bank account, or to an account specified by the patient.
Refunds will be processed fortnightly on a Friday. Please allow 3 business days after the transaction has been processed to clear your account.
Deposits are not transferable between patients and/or providers.
No refunds will be issued on the day before, of, or after, the appointment if there is a late cancellation or appointment no-show.

Zero tolerance policy

At NIPM, our commitment to providing compassionate care to our patients is our first priority. We are a chronic pain clinic, however we are not an acute service. If you need immediate attention, please present to your nearest emergency department.

We understand that for patients in pain, there can be quite a bit of anxiety among our callers, which sometimes leads to instances of rudeness directed towards our dedicated administrative and nursing team.

We would like to emphasise the importance of maintaining respect and understanding in all interactions, especially when dealing with our staff.

Our team work hard to ensure that every patient is attended to promptly and with the utmost care.

Whilst we empathise with the frustration caused by appointment wait times or health concerns, it’s crucial to remember that being rude or disrespectful is never appropriate.

Abusive or disrespectful behaviour not only affects the morale and well-being of our team, but also detracts from the supportive and caring environment we strive to create at NIPM. Every member of our staff deserves to work in a respectful and safe environment.

As part of our commitment to maintaining a positive atmosphere, we want to reiterate our zero-tolerance policy towards abusive and disrespectful behaviour. This policy ensures that anyone displaying disrespectful conduct towards our staff will be asked to leave the practice without the opportunity to reschedule.

We encourage our patients to express their concerns and communicate openly with us. If you have any concerns, please raise these with our Practice Manager for a confidential, respectful, discussion.