For the Physician
Referring Doctors and Health Care Providers
TMS Therapy (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) is an FDA cleared device to non-invasively treat depression in patients who have had an inadequate response to antidepressant treatments or who are intolerant of the side effects of anti-depressant medications.
West Side TMS Center is different from that of other psychiatrists you might refer to who perform TMS and also do therapy. We will discuss your referred patients with you but we will not do extensive therapy with your patients nor will we adjust their medications. If you refer patients to us, you will participate in their treatment. During and after treatment, patients will continue seeing you for therapy and remain your patient. We will continue to consult with you on their progress and care during the TMS treatment. In fact, studies have shown that patients receiving TMS are more responsive to other treatment modalities during and after their TMS treatment, so it is even more important that you continue to do therapy during this time.
During the treatment, your patient will recline in a chair, much like a dentist’s chair, while a device with a magnetic coil is placed on their head and delivers magnetic pulses much like those in an MRI. The outpatient treatment has been shown safe and effective and there have been over 25,000 treatments done to date. Treatments usually last for 40 minutes, 5 days a week, with a minimum of 20-30 sessions, but there are different protocols being studied for different psychiatric disease states. The actual treatment is done by a technician and, after the initial settings are established by the psychiatrist on the first visit, the technician does the subsequent treatments.
TMS has been used by clinicians since its FDA approval in 2008. There is a large body of research on TMS and more studies are being done every day both here and abroad. If you have a current patient or know someone who might benefit from TMS Therapy, and you would like to learn more, Contact us today for more information!
Please review our site to read the latest information about TMS Therapy. Find news coverage, scientific research, and press releases about this innovative FDA-approved alternative to treating depression.
