A Contemporary Medicolegal Analysis of Implanted Devices for Chronic Pain Management

Penny Greenberg, MS, RN, CPPS, Senior Program Director, CRICO Strategies and Ellen Song, Business Intelligence Analyst, CRICO worked with physician researchers at Brigham & Women’s Hospital to study complications associated with intrathecal drug delivery systems and spinal cord stimulators. This study illustrates how data from the national Comparative Benchmarking System (CBS) can shed light on a rare, but serious complication. Due to the high volume of claims in the national CBS database (representing approximately 30% of all US medical malpractice claims), researchers were able to identify the risks and contributing factors associated with this type of injury. Researchers determined that deficits in technical skill were the most common contributing factor to injury, followed by deficits in clinical judgment, communication, and documentation. This information provides a road map for organizations to address these injuries and ultimately mitigate the risks.

Citation for the Full-text Article

Abrecht CR, Greenberg P, Song E, Urman RD, Rathmell JP. A contemporary medicolegal analysis of implanted devices for chronic pain management. Anesthesia and Analgesia. April 2017;124(4):1304-1310. doi: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000001702. (subscription may be required)