A structured care initiative
Headache care run on a target and a timeline.
Treatment is a process, not a single appointment. The Headache Project is the umbrella for programs designed around active management, planned reassessment, and coordinated care.
The problem
A preventive medication often needs about two months at an adequate dose before its effect can be judged. Many patients need more than one adjustment. When follow-up is delayed for months, side effects go unaddressed, ineffective plans continue, and the next visit can feel like starting over.
Other fields use a treat-to-target model: define the outcome, measure progress, and adjust at planned intervals. The Headache Project applies that operating discipline to specialized headache care while keeping every decision individualized.
The differentiator is not access to a different medication. It is what happens between the first prescription and the result.
The operating model
01
The target
The plan starts with a documented treatment target, informed by headache frequency and the effect headaches have on work and life. A 50% reduction in headache days is a commonly used benchmark for preventive response, interpreted in the context of the individual patient.
02
The decision date
Preventive treatment takes time to judge. The next decision point is established in advance, so a plan can continue, adjust, or change when the treatment has had an adequate opportunity to work.
03
The plan
The target and the timeline belong to the plan, not to a single appointment. Care may involve other providers as treatment evolves, and the plan is what keeps decisions connected instead of losing momentum between disconnected appointments.
Two pathways
Program structure and enrollment details are being finalized. The overview below describes the intended clinical purpose, not a fixed schedule or package of services.
Year one pathway
Goal: Get better
A structured first year centered on treatment optimization, medication titration, side-effect management, troubleshooting, and ongoing reassessment against a defined target.
Enrollment details coming soon.
Ongoing pathway
Goal: Stay better
Continued reassessment after the initial treatment phase, designed to protect progress, revisit the plan as needs change, and keep long-term care intentional.
Enrollment details coming soon.
What a first year is designed to do
Confirm the diagnosis, define the target, and map the next treatment decisions.
Reach the intended treatment plan, address tolerability, and make the first decision on time.
Measure progress against the original target and adjust when the result falls short.
Read the year against the starting measure and establish what should happen next.
A distinct program
The Headache Project is focused on active headache management. The practice's CSF and vascular headache work is a separate clinical pathway for patients whose history or imaging raises questions about pressure, venous outflow, or another neurovascular cause.
A patient may need one pathway, both, or neither. When the questions overlap, care can be coordinated within the same interventional neurology practice without turning every headache into an interventional problem.
Patients with a pressure or vascular question are seen in the CSF and Vascular Headache Clinic.
Explore the CSF & vascular headache program →Program interest
Headache Reset and Headache Maintenance are being developed at the Center for Interventional Headache Medicine. Enrollment details are coming soon.
Selected references
These references support the clinical benchmarks and treat-to-target rationale. The Headache Project itself is a practice program, not a clinical trial. Information here is general and does not replace individualized medical advice.