CBS Data in Peer Review Studies

‘Tis the season to reflect on 2019 and the accomplishments of our collective work. In 2019, many research studies were published using CRICO Strategies Comparative Benchmarking System (CBS) data. As this data set continues to grow—currently representing approximately 30 percent of all US medical professional liability (MPL) claims—it offers a wealth of opportunity for insights about medical malpractice claims trends and patient safety risks.

Part of our mission is to broadly disseminate learning from CBS so we are grateful to this body of work done by dedicated researchers comprising our staff, clients, and external researchers.

Insights from MPL data

Analyzing MPL data provides actionable insights to a vast number of professionals:

• Actuaries writing reinsurance
• Health care executives assessing business plans
• Claims managers establishing defense strategies
• Clinicians developing and employing patient safety improvements and processes

The data are used to:

• Gauge concerning trends and spot emerging risks
• Compare information over time and across peer groups
• Determine high-yield patient safety and quality improvements

published peer-review studies in 2019 using CBS data

In addition to working with our data partners (those who code and contribute their claims data to CBS), we work with researchers interested in exploring medical malpractice data to inform clinical care and processes. For example, this year we conducted an analysis with a researcher from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Research topics can be specific such as claims related to the management of benign biliary disease, to broad topics such as claims involving diagnosis. Of the studies published in peer review journals in 2019 that leveraged CBS data, the topics most frequently analyzed were diagnosis, surgery and anesthesia.

Below is a listing of those peer review studies. Links to the articles in the journals are provided (some journals may require subscriptions).

Diagnosis-related Research

• Serious misdiagnosis-related harms in malpractice claims: The “Big Three” – vascular events, infections, and cancers (Diagnosis, July 2019)
• Breakdowns in the initial patient-provider encounter are a frequent source of diagnostic error among ischemic stroke cases included in a large medical malpractice claims database (Diagnosis, July 2019)
• Missed diagnosis of cancer in primary care: Insights from malpractice claims data (Journal of Healthcare Risk Management, July 2019)
• An urgent call for leaders to support more accurate and timely diagnoses (Journal of Healthcare Management, December 2019)

Surgery-related Research

• What have we learned from malpractice claims involving the surgical management of benign biliary disease? (Annals of Surgery, May 2019)
• The potential role of non-technical skills in risk management of endoscopic perforations (Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Journal, June 2019)
• A long, unnerving road: Malpractice claims involving the surgical management of thyroid and parathyroid disease (World Journal of Surgery, August 2019)
• A contemporary medicolegal analysis of perioperative vision loss from 2007 to 2016 (Journal of Healthcare Risk Management, October 2019)

Anesthesia-related Research

• A contemporary medicolegal claims analysis of injuries related to neuraxial anesthesia between 2007 and 2016 (Journal of Clinical Anesthesia, November 2019)
• A medicolegal analysis of positioning-related perioperative peripheral nerve injuries occurring between 1996 and 2015 (Journal of Clinical Anesthesia, December 2019)
• A closed claims analysis of vocal cord injuries related to endotracheal intubation between 2004 and 2015 (Journal of Clinical Anesthesia, December 2019)
• A contemporary medicolegal analysis of outpatient interventional pain procedures: 2009–2016 (Anesthesia & Analgesia, July 2019)

Cardiovascular-related Research

• Nurses are key in preventing deadly diagnostic errors in cardiovascular diseases (Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, January 2019)
• Medical malpractice involving pulmonary/critical care physicians (CHEST Journal, May 2019)

Misc. Research Topics

• Electronic health record–related events in medical malpractice cClaims (Journal of Patient Safety, June 2019)
• Increased litigation burden among tibia, pelvis, and spine fractures (Orthopedic Trauma Association Journal, September 2019)
• Analysis of antibiotic-related malpractice claims, 2007 to 2016 (OFID, October 2019)
• Medical malpractice analysis in radiation oncology: a decade of results from a national comparative benchmarking system (International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics, March 2019)