Open AccessA Contemporary Medicolegal Analysis of Outpatient Medication Management in Chronic Pain
Author(s) -
Christopher R. Abrecht,
Ethan Y. Brovman,
Penny Greenberg,
Ellen Song,
James P. Rathmell,
Richard D. Urman
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
anesthesia and analgesia/anesthesia and analgesia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.404
H-Index - 201
eISSN - 1526-7598
pISSN - 0003-2999
DOI - 10.1213/ane.0000000000002499
Subject(s) - medicine , malpractice , chronic pain , medical malpractice , payment , family medicine , medline , medical emergency , psychiatry , law , world wide web , political science , computer science
Opioids are frequently used in chronic pain management but are associated with significant morbidity and mortality in some patient populations. An important avenue for identifying complications-including serious or rare complications-is the study of closed malpractice claims. The present study is intended to complement the existing closed claims literature by drawing on claims from a more recent timeframe through a partnership with a large malpractice carrier, the Controlled Risk Insurance Company (CRICO). 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.