Complaints and claims against osteopaths: NCOR Adverse Events Project 3

The primary objective of this study was to investigate the frequency and character of complaints made by patients about osteopathic care, and to whom those complaints had been made. The second objective was to gain a greater understanding of the nature of the complaint and the circumstances leading to complaints. 

The aim was to create a profile of the complaints that had been made by patients against osteopaths over the past decade. The profile shows the frequency, nature and temporal trends in osteopathic complaints 2004-2008. We also gathered qualitative data through interviews to try to understand why complaints occur. 

The literature review established that no previous studies had quantified complaints about osteopathy, nor examined patterns in the types of complaints within manual therapy professions. Complaints statistics from the respective regulators show that rates of complaint vary somewhat between professions, with osteopathy being somewhat low compared to chiropractic (at 211) and high compared to physiotherapy (rates being 68, 211 and 20 per 10,000 p.a. respectively). The research literature on adverse events suggested that serious effects after osteopathic treatment are extremely rare (1 in 500,000 or less frequent) while mild effects are common (up to 8 out of 10 patients).

The report has been submitted and the findings presented at the NCOR and WCPT conferences in 2011. The results of this project, a narrative synthesis of the literature on communicating risks of treatment to patients in osteopathic practice and obtaining informed consent, are available here