Interventional pain blocks in Ontario: a population-based cross-sectional study on 2019 procedural volumes, clustering, and physician billings
Authors' conclusion
Pain block administration is highly clustered in Ontario, with many patients receiving PBs in ways that are not supported by best evidence.
Study context
- Population
- Physicians administering interventional pain blocks (PBs) for chronic pain to Ontario residents in an outpatient setting, 1 January–31 December 2019
- Outcome
- Total number of PBs administered in an outpatient setting for chronic pain by eligible physicians
Methodological detailspopulation-based
- Population-based
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Clustering of PB provision among physicians
Share of blocks provided by the top 1% of physicians
39%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
High-volume PB providers: characteristics and billings
- General practitioners among high-volume providers
- 88.4%
- PBs as share of billings, median (IQR)
- 87% [84-89]
- Patients in their practices receiving ≥1 PB in 2019
- 63.0%
Patients receiving a PB from a high-volume provider
- Annual frequency of visits for PBs, median (IQR)
- 10 [3-23]
- PBs administered per visit, median (IQR)
- 5 [4-6]
Original publication
Interventional pain blocks in Ontario: a population-based cross-sectional study on 2019 procedural volumes, clustering, and physician billings. Can J Anaesth. Published 2 November 2023. doi:10.
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