• Justin K Zhang, Kathleen S Botterbush, Philippe Mercier, and Tobias A Mattei.
• Division of Neurological Surgery, Department of Surgery, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA.
• Neurosurgery. 2023 Mar 1; 92 (3): 441449441-449.

BackgroundMost professional spine societies have enacted formal guidelines for spine surgeons providing expert witness services. However, there is significant heterogeneity in existing recommendations, with most societies providing information that is limited in detail and scope.ObjectiveTo provide a review of guidelines published by professional spine societies for spine surgeons serving as expert witnesses.MethodsThe Gale Directory Library, PubMed, and the grey literature were queried for national or international professional societies related to spine surgery. The search was focused on societies in the United States and North America, but also included well recognized international organizations in the field of spine surgery. Included societies with publicly available guidelines regarding expert witness services were extracted for 4 domains: (1) qualifications, (2) preparations, (3) testimony, and (4) compensation as well as the presence of a professional compliance program, defined as any official subcommittee aimed toward investigating claims of unethical behavior.ResultsAlthough most professional spine societies share general themes with respect to expert witness guidelines, important differences exist. Of the 26 societies included, 10 included publicly available guidelines: 4 of which were general neurosurgery societies, 2 general orthopedic surgery, and 4 spine specific. Three societies included the guidelines on all 4 domains (ie, qualifications, preparations, testimony, and compensation), and 2 societies included only 1 of the 4 domains. Eight societies possess a professional compliance program.ConclusionThere remains a paucity in expert witness guidelines provided by professional spine societies. Although existing recommendations are useful, there is a lack of standardized and comprehensive materials for spine surgeons providing expert witness testimony to reference. Moving forward, joint committees comprising surgeons, attorneys, and patient stakeholders may help improve the guidelines.Copyright © Congress of Neurological Surgeons 2022. All rights reserved.

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