JOHN F. ROTHROCK, M.D.
Professor and Vice-Chair of Neurology
Director, UAB Headache Research and Treatment Program
MISSION AND VISION
The University of Alabama Headache Treatment and Research Program was established in October 2006 to fulfill two primary objectives:
- Provide this region’s physicians with expert consultative service in the area of headache medicine
- Raise the existing standard of care for headache through individual and collaborative research
Patients referred to the Program’s clinics receive a thorough evaluation by health care providers who have been trained specifically in the field of headache medicine, and each patient is provided with a specific diagnosis and a management plan that is tailored to his/her particular needs. The patient then is instructed to return to his/her referring physician for implementation of the management plan; if no such physician is available, the patient may be referred to one of the Program’s associates in the private medical sector for follow-up. Referring physicians are encouraged to request subsequent re-consultation as dictated by the patient’s clinical course. As a rule, only patients actively enrolled in one of the Program’s clinical research studies are followed on a regular basis by the Program’s physicians.
What does this mean for patients?
- Unless you are actively enrolled in one of the Program’s clinical research trials or specifically have been advised to do otherwise, you should call your primary care provider or the physician who referred you to the Program’s clinic for any headache-related questions, problems involving your medications or medication refills.
- Exceptions to the policy stated in number 1 include selected patients who have been instructed to receive a specific medication (or medications) only from the Headache Program’s providers; in some cases those patients may be required to sign a written agreement confirming that arrangement. In addition, patients who are receiving injection therapies for headache prevention (for example, Botox injections or occipital nerve blocks) may call the Program’s offices (205-996-7945) directly to schedule appointments for repeat treatment.
- If you are a patient who has been evaluated at the Headache Program and your headaches are poorly controlled despite your following the management plan designed for you, you should contact your primary care provider or the physician who referred you to the Program’s clinic. If that provider feels such intervention is appropriate, he/she will refer you back to our clinic for repeat consultation.
- Please do not call or e-mail the offices of the Headache Treatment and Research Program to discuss your headache management. The Program is not equipped to handle a high volume of patient calls and still meet successfully its primary objectives. There typically are only three reasons for a patient to contact the Headache Program’s offices directly: (a) the patient is actively involved in a clinical research trial and has a question related to that study or to his/her headache management generally; (b) the patient wishes to schedule a repeat procedure (typically Botox injection therapy or occipital nerve blocks); or (c) the patient wishes to know whether the Program is conducting a research trial for which he/she may be eligible.
What does this mean for physicians?
- Healthcare providers who refer a patient to the Headache Treatment and Research Program’s clinics for consultation will receive a letter from the Program’s physician who personally evaluated the patient, and that letter will contain both the physician’s clinical impression/diagnosis and – outlined in detail – a suggested management plan.
- Healthcare providers referring patients to the Headache Treatment and Research Program’s clinics should not expect that the Program’s physicians will provide routine ongoing care to those patients.
- Patients referred to the Program’s clinics who are eligible for participation in an ongoing clinical research trial and choose to participate will be followed by the Program’s physicians for the duration of the study and seen regularly at the Program’s research center, in its clinic or both. Such follow-up will be conducted in parallel with any care provided by the referring healthcare provider, and that provider will receive regular updates as to his/her patient’s clinical status while enrolled in the research study.
- If a patient who was referred to the Program’s clinics does poorly from the headache standpoint despite implementation of the recommended management plan, the patient’s primary care provider (or the provider who initially referred the patient) is encouraged to refer the patient back to the Program’s clinics for repeat consultation.
Headache Program Contact Information
General Information: Kim Kiley 205.996.7945
Research Information: Silvia Weibelt 205.996.7944