OVERVIEW

Section on Intraoperative Neurophysiological Monitoring: Regulatory and Medicolegal Aspects of Neuromonitoring in Spine Surgery is organized by North American Spine Society (NASS).

Target Audience:
This course is open to all members and nonmembers in the medical field.

Overview:
As an independent profession, the neuromonitoring (IONM) community frequently publishes evidence-based guidelines and standards that establish and maintain expectations for how IONM should be performed. Depending on individual preferences and practice patterns, spine surgeons take on various levels of responsibility for the supervision, interpretation and technical performance of IONM, often without knowing these guidelines and standards exist. Deviations from guidelines and standards on the part of the surgeon are often documented by the IONM team for their medicolegal protection, potentially increasing exposure for the surgeon. Additionally, hospital policies and procedures that constrain the practice of IONM can reduce patient safety and result in additional unanticipated medicolegal exposure. This session will address the most common questions the IONM Section gets from the NASS community. Faculty are experts in IONM guidelines and standards, clinical practice patterns and closed claims involving IONM and spine surgery. Attendees are encouraged to share their experiences and perspectives in what we expect will be a lively Q&A.

Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, participants should gain strategies to:
• Understand the expectations established for the practice of IONM by nonsurgical guidelines and standards;
• Recognize the complex medicolegal interaction between IONM and spine surgery, and what the IONM team does to protect itself;
• Practice evidence- and value-based medicine relative to IONM in spine care, without increasing medicolegal exposure.