In this episode, Hartford HealthCare’s Steve Coates talks with the Headache Center’s medical director Dr. Brian Grosberg who explains how this one-of-a-kind program is advancing research and treatment in the field of headaches.
Check the notes in this episode to learn more about the Headache Center, their research, services and upcoming programs and classes. Or go to HartfordHealthCare.org/Headache.
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It's just one we're a headache, but it's one that I'm willing to accept. We're seeing patients from all over Connecticut, but from 15 other states, as well as from as far away as Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, and the Middle East.
SPEAKER_00
Welcome to More Life. The Hartford Healthcare IR Neuroscience Institute Headache Center and the internationally recognized Migraine Research Foundation recently announced an official permanent collaboration. In this episode, Hartford Healthcare's Steve Coates talks with the Headache Center's medical director, Dr. Brian Grossberg, who explains how this one-of-a-kind program is advancing research and treatment in the field of headaches. Here's Steve Coates.
SPEAKER_02
Hey Doctor, first of all, congratulations to you and your team. The choice by the Migraine Research Foundation of Hartford Healthcare's Headache Center, an amazing honor. First of all, tell us what it means for patients and for the headache center in general.
SPEAKER_01
Well, thank you, Steve, for highlighting this. I really appreciate it. The goal of our of the Hartford Healthcare Headache Center is to be nationally renowned for the only being the only academic headache program that spans an entire healthcare system. We are literally the only healthcare system-wide headache program in the country. And our missions really are not only to deliver high-quality, personalized, coordinated headache care, but also to train future leaders and advance the field of headache medicine research. And this collaboration and gift from the Migrine Research Foundation will do just that. Ultimately, our program has been involved in research since its inception, but the opportunity, if you will, of this gift will allow us a broader network to collaborate with headache researchers worldwide to do research within our integrated system-wide interdisciplinary headache program. And by that I mean that because our headache program actually incorporates the use of other services that intersect with the care to deliver improved care to patients, we have more opportunities for research. So an example is when I first arrived at Connecticut, many of the women who experienced migraine around their periods or worsening around menopause had really had nowhere to go. And so with a collaboration with Women's Healthier, we developed the first headache and hormone clinic in the country. It has never been studied. And so it's that relationships, that type of program that crosses not only the headache center, but women's health that end up allowing us to be able to study headache care in a whole person fashion rather than just looking at it at siloed.
SPEAKER_02
And what are some other ways that research can benefit the patient?
SPEAKER_01
It's research that drives the ability to improve clinical care. And so having the only headache and hormone clinic in the country, having the only headache and pregnancy clinic in the country, these are just two examples of services that our headache program can provide to patients where it doesn't exist anywhere else in the United States. And we know that the outcomes are better for patients, but we need to still study it. We need to end up moving it along. Are there going to be certain treatments that are better for certain patients? We don't know that. And so the only way to end up doing that is to do cutting-edge research. This gift from the Migraine Research Foundation allows us to do that. The other benefit, the president of the Migraine Research Foundation, which was an internationally renowned foundation, supported grants for migraine researchers worldwide, actually chose of all researchers, all headache programs worldwide, to um exclusively collaborate with our headache program. And I mean it's just it's mind-boggling and it's very humbling at the same time. That president will actually co-chair our headache research council. And so ultimately, what that will do is her experience will also help drive our ability to improve our outcomes and ultimately patient care.
SPEAKER_02
On a personal note, as a leader, that's a lot of pressure now as the world is watching the outcomes from the Hartford Healthcare Headache Center. There's a lot of accountability now with this investment.
SPEAKER_01
It's just one more headache, but it's a good one. That's one that I'm willing to accept. Um, you know, ultimately at the end of the day, I mean our headache program has only been in existence six years, and we're seeing patients from all over Connecticut, but from 15 other states, as well as from as far away as um Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, and the Middle East.
SPEAKER_02
For patients out there who are longtime sufferers from migraines, from other types of headaches, what differentiates a center like Hartford Health Cares rather than just going to, say, their primary care doctor or to a neurologist to get answers for what's really been a problem for them for years?
SPEAKER_01
So that's a great question. I think to simplify it, it really comes down to the vision. The vision is to build a program that looks at the whole person that utilizes services that end up improving on the ultimate headache care and the different factors that may further improve that headache care. And so an example of that is no two people that we see who have, let's say, migraine received the same treatment plan because each person is individual. So it's not a cookie cutter approach. And so it really becomes very personalized. The other thing, which is very unique about our headache program, is that it's coordinated care. So the messaging is the same. All of the people we work with are physical therapists. They're all familiar with migraine, they all understand the mechanisms of migraine, they all understand the treatment plan. Women's health, once again, they understand the management of migraine, they understand the management of migraine around pregnancy. And so ultimately, what patients get is really that personalized coordination of care, which is very unique. Even when we order, let's say, imaging studies, our neuroradiologists read all of the films. And so ultimately there's a level of comfort. Not only that, the patients may not be aware that we have neurodiology rounds where we actually review the films with the neuroradiologists. We try to employ non-medication approaches. And so we utilize behavioral health or other services to try to use as little medication as possible. And we always end up taking into patient preference, right? At the end of the day, I always tell people that my level of comfort is based on yours, right? If they're not comfortable with the plan, then we need to find a plan that's aligned with what they're looking for.
SPEAKER_02
This kind of leads me to my next question then. So, how does a doctor become a headache specialist? What is the training involved?
SPEAKER_01
So, you know, before coming here, um I was at the New York Cent uh New York City for many years, where I ran the oldest headache center in the world. Um, and I was very fortunate to be uh mentored by uh some of the leading headache specialists in the world, um, which is very humbling. And so for me, it's just continuing their legacy. The training here, we're one of uh only a limited number of uh uh academic headache programs that actually has fellowship training. All the physicians are headache neurologists here, and so they all have been practicing headache medicine fellowship trained or have been doing it for 20 plus years. The advanced providers that uh are here with us have been trained by us, and so ultimately at the end of the day, their training is exclusively in headache medicine. Um, and uh most neurologists, even during their training, only get a limited number of hours of formal didactics. And so uh once again, that's where the training and the education kind of separates, if you will, from other people. That's why we're we're we're seeing people who may have been seen by many other neurologists before they come here.
SPEAKER_02
So a patient who's listening suffering from headaches, migraines, or other types of headaches, how do they get into the program?
SPEAKER_01
Our headache program requires a referral from a primary care provider. So a person would have to end up speaking with their primary care provider to get a referral here. Um, fortunately, we have five different headache center sites that span across the state of Connecticut. And so ultimately, you know, that allows for uh geographic representation. The challenge with everything is always that demand for outstrips supply. Um, and there are many more people that are impacted by headache than there are headache specialists, no matter how many headache centers we build. At the end of the day, uh typically most people see their primary care provider for headache care. Um, and then if they require additional benefit or help, uh either the primary care provider can reach out to us, or that person can just reach out to their primary care provider to get a referral. So those are a couple of ways of which to end up entering our headache program. In terms of our next steps, the hope is that we continue to end up working with primary care providers to improving their knowledge and level of comfort in uh diagnosing and managing migraine to try to make sure that uh as many people are cared for as possible.
SPEAKER_02
Doctor, thanks and congratulations once again. Always a pleasure to speak with you.
SPEAKER_01
Steve, thank you so much.
SPEAKER_02
I really appreciate it.
SPEAKER_00
Thank you, Steve Coates and Dr. Brian Grossberg. Check the notes in this episode to learn more about the Headache Center, their research, services, and upcoming programs and classes. Or you can go to Heartford Healthcare.org slash headache. Subscribe or follow Hartford Healthcare's More Life to be notified each time a new episode drops. Just search Hartford Healthcare on your favorite podcast platform. For Hartford Healthcare, I'm Enron DePierre. Thanks for listening to More Life.
SPEAKER_04
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