Working with Your Healthcare Team

You Don't Have to Manage Pain on Your Own

Persistent pain can affect almost every part of life — movement, sleep, mood, work, and relationships. Because of this, no single health professional can usually address everything on their own. Good pain care typically involves a team, sometimes called a multidisciplinary team (MDT), made up of different professionals who each bring a different skill set.

You may not need every member of a team, and the right mix of support depends on your needs, symptoms, and goals. What matters most is that the people involved in your care are working toward a shared direction, rather than offering disconnected advice.

Why Coordination Matters

One of the most common challenges for people living with persistent pain isn't a lack of appointments — it's a lack of a joined-up plan. When care is fragmented across different providers who aren't communicating, people can end up:

• repeating their story multiple times

• receiving mixed or conflicting advice

• missing out on referrals that could help

• struggling to see how all the pieces fit together

Coordinated care helps bring these different parts together so that medical care, allied health support, and self-management strategies are all working toward the same goals.

Your GP

Your GP is often the first point of contact and plays a central role in coordinating your overall care. They can assess your symptoms, monitor your health over time, review medications, help rule out or manage other conditions, and arrange referrals to other professionals when needed.

Because GPs often see the broadest picture of your health, they are well placed to help connect the different parts of your care into one coherent plan.

A Structured Care Plan (GPCCMP)

In some cases, your GP may help organise your care through a structured plan — often called a GP Chronic Condition Management Plan (GPCCMP). This kind of plan can help identify your needs, set goals, organise referrals, and connect you with appropriate services.

Not everyone who could benefit from this kind of structured planning currently receives it. If you haven't discussed this with your GP, it's a reasonable and useful question to raise.

Allied Health Professionals

Allied health professionals help you build practical skills for living well with persistent pain and improving day-to-day function. Depending on your needs, this might include:

• a physiotherapist to support movement, pacing, strength, and gradual return to activity

• an occupational therapist to help with daily tasks, routines, and adapting your home or work environment

• a psychologist to support coping, stress, sleep, and the emotional impact of pain

• an exercise physiologist to design safe, structured exercise programs

• a dietitian to support nutrition and broader health factors that may influence pain

The role of allied health isn't only to reduce symptoms — it's to help you build the skills, routines, and confidence needed for the long term.

Pain Specialists

A pain specialist may become involved when pain is complex, difficult to manage, or linked to a specific condition. Pain specialists have additional training in diagnosing and treating pain, and can offer more advanced options such as targeted procedures, medication management, or detailed treatment planning when needed.

A specialist's involvement doesn't replace your GP — the two typically work together, with your GP continuing to coordinate your broader care.

The Role of a Health Coach

A health coach can help turn information and advice into practical, everyday action. While GPs, specialists, and allied health professionals usually focus on assessment, treatment, and education, a health coach focuses on supporting behaviour change and helping you stay engaged with your goals.

A health coach may help you:

• set realistic, meaningful goals

• build healthier routines

• stay accountable

• work through setbacks

• maintain motivation over time

A health coach doesn't replace your healthcare team — they work alongside it, helping you stay organised and focused on what matters most to you.

Bringing Your Team Together

You may not need every professional described here, and that's normal. What matters most is recognising that persistent pain often benefits from more than one kind of support, and that a coordinated plan — rather than scattered, disconnected appointments — tends to produce better outcomes.

If your current care feels fragmented, or you're unsure who's responsible for which part of your plan, it's worth raising this directly with your GP. Asking about a structured care plan, a relevant referral, or simply how different parts of your care connect is a reasonable and often very useful step.

Key Take-Home Messages

• Persistent pain often benefits from a team of professionals, not just one

• Your GP usually plays a central, coordinating role in your care

• A structured care plan (GPCCMP) can help organise referrals and goals — but not everyone who could benefit currently has one

• Allied health professionals, pain specialists, and health coaches each play a distinct, complementary role

• Coordinated care — where everyone is working toward the same goals — tends to lead to better outcomes than fragmented, disconnected care