A Contemporary Medicolegal Analysis of Outpatient Medication Management in Chronic Pain

The goal of this study was to identify patient medical comorbidities and aberrant drug behaviors, as well as prescriber practices associated with patient injury and malpractice claims. Another objective was to identify claims most likely to result in payments and use this information to propose a strategy for reducing medicolegal risk. Through this analysis of CRICO Strategies Comparative Benchmarking System (CBS), a database of medical malpractice claims, researchers concluded that claims related to outpatient medication management in pain medicine are multifactorial, stemming from deficits in clinical judgment by physicians, noncooperation in care by patients, and poor clinical documentation. Continuing physician education on the safest and most effective approaches to manage these medications in everyday practice will lead to both improved legal security and patient safety.

Citation for the Full-text Article

Abrecht CR, Brovman EY, Greenberg P, Song E, Rathmell JP, Urman RD. A contemporary medicolegal analysis of outpatient medication management in chronic pain. Anesthesia & Analgesia. 2017 Nov;125(5):1761-1768. doi: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000002499. (subscription may be required)

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