Dr. John Claude Krusz is a prominently recognized expert in the fields of headache and Migraine treatment and pain treatment. In addition to being an outstanding clinician, he is also a researcher and author. We are indeed fortunate that Dr. Krusz has joined us to answer questions for our permanent
"Ask the Clinician" feature.
Education and Certification: Dr. Krusz received his Ph.D. in neuropharmacology from State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center in 1975 and his Medical Degree from State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine in 1983. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Neurology and Psychiatry and also the American Board of Forensic Examiners. He is board certified in Pain Management, EEG and Quantitative Electroencephalography.
Organizational Activities: Dr. Krusz is Vice President of the American Board of Electroencephalography and Neurophysiology. He Krusz serves as a Medical Advisor on the Board of Directors of
MAGNUM; serves on the Editorial Board of the American Academy of Pain Management; and is an Adjunct Faculty member in the Department of Psychology at Southern Methodist University. "Dr. K" was elected to the Board of Directors of the Texas Pain Society and is in the SIG for Refractory Headaches in the American Headache Society.
Research and Clinical Practice: Dr. Krusz has been involved in extensive researchin the area of headache and pain disorders. He is in private practice in Neurology in Dallas, and serves as the head of his multidisciplinary clinic, the
Anodyne Headache and PainCare Center.
Primary Areas of Interest: Dr. Krusz’s primary areas of interest include evaluation and novel treatments of headache, Migraine disease, pain syndromes and neurobehavioral disorders. He is highly interested in outpatient treatment issues, especially intravenous acute management of symptoms. Neuropsychiatric interests include traumatic brain injury, Tourette’s Syndrome, Asperger’s Syndrome, Attention Deficit Disorders and Deaf and Hard of hearing problems. He helped found the National Deaf People’s Institute in Dallas.
Philosophy of Dr. Krusz's Clinical Practice: Over many
years of treating patients with headache, migraine and many kinds of pain
flareup, it became very frustrating to admit 200 patients per year to a very
large urban hospital system. Precerting and admitting through the emergency room
during the headache and flareup disrupted the patient care in the office clinic
setting.
Dealing with multiple kinds of delays,
inefficiencies, nursing problems and barriers to getting the job done in a
timely manner on behalf of the patient, who was there to have their symptoms
treated. The main negative feeling and conclusion was that the hospital is NOT
the real world for the patient. It was felt a new treatment system had to be
developed. After all, it is the same distance for the person to go to the ER or
to come to Anodyne Headache and PainCare.
About 11 years ago, Dr Krusz began to expand on
the smaller number of patients treated with IV therapy by himself in the
outpatient setting. The new office was in a converted former home with a cozy
setting, very different from the hospital-based office that was used before this
transformation.
Seeing the same practitioner and staff consistently that cared about your symptoms is a more nurturing experience for the patient. Dimmable lighting, a quiet environment, lights out during treatment is homelike and soothing. It is not just about the medication approaches used in the clinic, but I believe that the treatment environment becomes very important as well.
Very simply, Anodyne Headache and PainCare is more efficient, gets much more effective treatment results than other settings, and is more caring for the patient’s needs and is significantly less expensive. Often, people will call us with a headache, migraine or pain flareup and they can be brought in to the clinic within the hour, depending on distance in our area. People have jumped on a plane from further away and gone back home the same day. Texas is a huge place but we do have a very efficient Southwest Airline system. You can get to Anodyne Headache and PainCare from anywhere in Texas or neighboring states in a short time with inexpensive fares.
We have a host of IV treatments available and some of them, if they help, can even be given by yourself or by family or in an ER setting. Some of our medications are specific to the clinic and not readily available. In many ways the reduction or eradication of migraines and pain flareups use some of the same IV medications in the clinic setting.
