The scientific evidence for clinical effectiveness of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for treatment of acute, chronic, and labor and delivery pain is assessed in this paper, and it is concluded that there is little evidence for other than a limited use of TENS. The utilization of TENS in Canadian hospitals and payments for TENS services are addressed. Some practicalities regarding the use and assessment of health technologies are discussed.
The clinical effectiveness of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for pain management is assessed. It is shown that despite a lack of credible evidence supporting it, TENS is used widely in Canadian hospitals. The point is made that biomedical and clinical engineers need to become more aware of health technology assessment so that they can help ensure that health technologies are used more appropriately.
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