• Lisa Goudman, Ann De Smedt, Maxime Billot, Manuel Roulaud, Philippe Rigoard, and Maarten Moens.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; STIMULUS Consortium (reSearch and TeachIng neuroModULation Uz bruSsel), Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; Center for Neurosciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; Pain in Motion Research Group, Department of Physiotherapy, Human Physiology and Anatomy, Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; Research Foundation-Flanders, Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address: lisa.goudman@vub.be.
• Neuromodulation. 2023 Dec 1; 26 (8): 188718921887-1892.

IntroductionNeuromodulation for pain has been successfully applied for decades, in that the goals and expectations that patients aim to achieve are clearly described. Nevertheless, the point of view of health care providers is less clear. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the goals, expectations, and definition of success for neuromodulation for pain according to health care providers.Materials And MethodsAn online survey was developed and spread at the 2nd Joint Congress of the International Neuromodulation Society (INS) European Chapters in September 2021 in Paris. Respondents were asked 1) to select the goals to treat patients with neuromodulation for pain, 2) to indicate factors that they expect to change according to neuromodulation for pain, and 3) to provide their definition of success of neuromodulation for pain.ResultsWe approached 101 respondents, of whom 88 health care providers at least partly completed the survey. Increasing mobility/functionality (26.7%), decreasing pain intensity (24.5%), and decreasing medication use (16.6%) were the most frequently reported goals of neuromodulation. The same top three variables were selected as factors that health care providers expected to change. For the definition of success, quality of life of patients outranked other definitions. Other highly ranked definitions, in descending order, were obtaining pain relief, increasing functionality, and increasing patient satisfaction.DiscussionGoals and expectations of health care providers are not completely in line with previously explored goals of patients that are related to pain relief and improving walking abilities. Health care providers seem to put a high emphasis on the quality of life of the patient when evaluating the success of neuromodulation, which is not completely aligned with the currently used reimbursement rules that are mainly focusing on pain relief instead of incorporating health-related quality of life.Clinical Trial RegistrationThe Clinicaltrials.gov registration number for the study is NCT05013840.Copyright © 2022 International Neuromodulation Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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