Your first visit
- Welcome
- Do I need X Rays?
- The Report of Findings:
- Treatment
Welcome to TASC
Your first visit at The Ashgrove Spinal Centre (TASC) will involve the taking of a detailed history of your presenting complaint and general heath.
Treatment is considered a part of Your First Visit at TASC unless of course there are relevant clinical reasons that make it unsafe or inappropriate to do so. In the case of the later the reasons for not offering treatment will be carefully explained along with the next actions required be they at the Centre or referred. .
Initial Patient FormInformed Consent Form
Do I need X Rays?
At The Ashgrove Spinal Centre we do not refer all new patients for X-Ray examination as a standard procedure. However, we are committed to conducting the most comprehensive examination possible in order to provide as much information regarding both your presenting complaint and general health. This often requires further testing which cannot be performed within the Centre and may include X-Ray analysis, CT and/or MRI scans etc. Any tests required and the reasons for them being required will be explained to you before you are referred; you can be confident that you will not be sent for unnecessary tests.
Initial Patient FormInformed Consent Form
The Report of Findings
Perhaps the most important visit at The Ashgrove Spinal Centre is the Report of Findings which for most patients takes place within 24 hours of the First Visit. During this visit your history and examination findings are combined with any test results (i.e. X-Rays) and compared to the outcome of any treatment offered at Your First Visit. All of this information is then combined to provide you with a clear explanation of what we have found (a diagnosis) and the impacts that it has both on your current complaint and how it might impact you in the future (a prognosis). TASC is a whole spine clinic and therefore time will be taken to compare and reflect not only on the region of your current complaint but its impacts on your overall spinal and general health.
Informed Consent Form
Treatment
We understand that our patients generally have 3 questions when they come to see us. What is it? Can you fix it? How much will it cost? So having already provided you with a diagnosis we move to carefully explaining your prognosis and our proposed Treatment Plan. We have learned over the years that different people have different health goals. So at this point we have a conversation about what these goals are and your expectations of us so that we can ensure that we understand your needs from the beginning and engage with you to reach these goals. Experience has taught us that most breakdowns in the doctor-patient relationship are the result of differing expectations resulting from poor communication.
So we establish your what, can and how and use it to form a Management Plan that suits you and your health goals from the beginning.
Initial Patient FormInformed Consent Form