A Pragmatic Approach to Evaluating New Techniques in Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain Medicine

Abstract

Anesthesiologists set up regional anesthesia and acute pain medicine programs in order to improve the patient outcomes and experience. Given the increasing frequency and volume of newly described techniques, applying a pragmatic framework can guide clinicians on how to critically review and consider implementing the new techniques into clinical practice. A proposed framework should consider how a technique: increases access; enhances efficiency; decreases disparities and improves outcomes. Quantifying the relative contribution of these four factors using a point system, which will be specific to each practice, can generate an overall scorecard to help clinicians make decisions on whether or not to incorporate a new technique into clinical practice or replace an incumbent technique within a clinical pathway.

Graphical abstract

Keywords::

• access
• disparities
• efficiency
• grading system
• implementation
• novel techniques
• outcomes
• regional anesthesia

Financial & competing interests disclosure

SG Memtsoudis has received compensation from Sandoz Inc. (Princeton, NJ, USA) for a one-time consultation, is the owner of SGM Consulting, LCC and holds a patent for a multi-catheter infusion system (US patent number US-2017-0361063). DB Auyong has conducted funded research with FujiFilm SonoSite (Bothell, WA, USA) and has received honoraria for presenting educational lectures with Halyard Health (Alpharetta, GA, USA). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

SG Memtsoudis has received compensation from Sandoz Inc. (Princeton, NJ, USA) for a one-time consultation, is the owner of SGM Consulting, LCC and holds a patent for a multi-catheter infusion system (US patent number US-2017-0361063). DB Auyong has conducted funded research with FujiFilm SonoSite (Bothell, WA, USA) and has received honoraria for presenting educational lectures with Halyard Health (Alpharetta, GA, USA). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.