The cascade of medical services and associated longitudinal costs due to nonadherent magnetic resonance imaging for low back pain

Spine

Volumn 39, Issue 17, 2014, Pages 1433-1440

  Webster, Barbara S ^a,b   Choi, Yoonsun ^a   Bauer, Ann Z ^c   Cifuentes, Manuel ^a,c   Pransky, Glenn ^a  

^a LIBERTY MUTUAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR SAFETY   (United States)

^b Helmsman Management Services LLC   (United States)

^c UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS LOWELL   (United States)

Author keywords

costs; evidence based guidelines; low back pain; MRI; nonspecific back pain; radiculopathy; workers' compensation

Indexed keywords

ADULT; ARTICLE; COHORT ANALYSIS; CONSERVATIVE TREATMENT; CONTROLLED STUDY; ELECTROMYOGRAPHY; FEMALE; HEALTH CARE COST; HEALTH CARE UTILIZATION; HEALTH SERVICE; HUMAN; LOW BACK PAIN; MAJOR CLINICAL STUDY; MALE; MEDICAL SERVICE; NERVE CONDUCTION; NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING; PRIORITY JOURNAL; RADICULAR PAIN; RETROSPECTIVE STUDY; RISK FACTOR; WORKMAN COMPENSATION; DISABILITY; ECONOMICS; OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES; STATISTICAL MODEL;

ADULT; COHORT STUDIES; DISABILITY EVALUATION; FEMALE; HUMANS; LOGISTIC MODELS; LOW BACK PAIN; MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING; MALE; OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES; RETROSPECTIVE STUDIES; WORKERS' COMPENSATION;

EID: 84905506601     PISSN: 03622436     EISSN: 15281159     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1097/BRS.0000000000000408     Document Type: Article

References (42)

1. Deyo RA. Cascade effects of medical technology. Ann Rev Public Health 2002; 23: 23-44.
2. Shy KK, Luthy DA, Bennett F, et al. Effects of electronic fetal-heart-rate monitoring, as compared with periodic auscultation, on the neurologic development of premature infants. N Engl J Med 1990; 322: 588-93.
3. Banerjee A, Newman DR, Van den Bruel A, et al. Diagnostic accuracy of exercise stress testing for coronary artery disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies. Int J Clin Pract 2012; 66: 477-92.
4. Jarvik JG. Imaging of adults with low back pain in the primary care setting. Neuroimaging Clin N Am 2003; 13: 293-305.
5. Deyo RA, Mirza SK, Turner JA, et al. Overtreating chronic back pain: time to back off ? J Am Board Fam Med 2009; 22: 62-8.
6. MafiJN, McCarthy EP, Davis RB, et al. Worsening trends in the management and treatment of back pain. JAMA Intern Med 2013; 173: 1573-81.
7. Boden SD, Davis DO, Dina TS, et al. Abnormal magnetic-resonance scans of the lumbar spine in asymptomatic subjects. A prospective investigation. J Bone Joint Surg 1990; 72: 403-8.
8. Jarvik JG, Deyo RA. Diagnostic evaluation of low back pain with emphasis on imaging. Ann Intern Med 2002; 137: 586-97.
9. Jensen MC, Brant-Zawadzki MN, Obuchowski NA, et al. Magnetic resonance imaging of the lumbar spine in people without back pain. N Engl J Med 1994; 331: 69-73.
10. Chou R, Fu R, Carrino JA, et al. Imaging strategies for low back pain: systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet 2009; 373: 463-72.
11. Chou R, Qaseem A, Snow V, et al. Diagnosis and treatment of low back pain: a joint clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians and the American Pain Society. Ann Intern Med 2007; 147: 478-91.
12. Webster BS, Cifuentes M. Relationship of early magnetic resonance imaging for work-related acute low back pain with disability and medical utilization outcomes. J Occup Environ Med 2010; 52: 900-7.
13. Baras JD, Baker LC. Magnetic resonance imaging and low back pain care for Medicare patients. Health Affairs (Millwood) 2009; 28: w1133-40.
14. Jarvik JG, Hollingworth W, Martin B, et al. Rapid magnetic resonance imaging vs. radiographs for patients with low back pain: a randomized controlled trial. J Am Med Assoc 2003; 289: 2810-8.
15. Lurie JD, Birkmeyer NJ, Weinstein JN. Rates of advanced spinal imaging and spine surgery. Spine 2003; 28: 616-20.
16. You JJ, Bederman SS, Symons S, et al. Patterns of care after magnetic resonance imaging of the spine in primary care. Spine 2013; 38: 51-9.
17. Webster BS, Bauer A, Choi Y, et al. Iatrogenic consequences of early MRI in acute work-related disabling low back pain. Spine 2013; 38: 1939-46.
18. Graves JM, Fulton-Kehoe D, Jarvik JG, et al. Health care utilization and costs associated with adherence to clinical practice guidelines for early magnetic resonance imaging among workers with acute occupational low back pain. Health Serv Res 2014; 49: 645-65.
19. American Medical Association. Current Procedural Terminology (CPT). Chicago, IL: American Medical Association; 2009.
20. Commission on Professional and Hospital Activities. International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification, ICD-9-CM. Ann Arbor, MI: Edwards Brothers, Inc.; 1980.
21. Bigos S, Bowyer O, Braen G, et al. Acute Low Back Problems in Adults: Clinical Practice Guideline no. 14. Rockville, MD: Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, Public Health Service, US Department of Health and Human Services; 1994.
22. Goertz M, Thorson D, Bonsell J, et al. Health care guideline. Adult acute and subacute low back pain. 15th edition. Updated November 2012. Available at: https://www.icsi.org/-asset/bjvqrj/LBP.pdf. Accessed July 19, 2013.
23. Webster BS, Verma S, Gatchel R. Relationship between early opi-oid prescribing for acute occupational low back pain and disability duration, medical costs, subsequent surgery, and late opioid use. Spine 2007; 32: 2127-32.
24. Modic MT, Obuchowski NA, Ross JS, et al. Acute low back pain and radiculopathy: MR imaging findings and their prognostic role and effect on outcome. Radiology 2005; 237: 597-604.
25. Campbell C, Guy A. Why can't they do anything for a simple back problem? A qualitative examination of expectations for low back pain treatment and outcome. J Health Psychol 2007; 12: 641-52.
26. Tait RC, Chibnall JT, Kalauokalani D. Provider judgments of patients in pain: seeking symptom certainty. Pain Medicine 2009; 10: 11-34.
27. Carey TS, Freburger JK, Holmes GM, et al. A long way to go: practice patterns and evidence in chronic low back pain care. Spine 2009; 34: 718-24.
28. Boswell MV, Shah R V, Everett CR, et al. Interventional techniques in the management of chronic spinal pain: evidence-based practice guidelines. Pain Phys 2005; 8: 1-47.
29. Staal JB, Nelemans PJ, de Bie RA. Spinal injection therapy for low back pain. J Am Med Assoc 2013; 309: 2439-40.
30. Webster BS, Courtney TK, Huang Y-H, et al. Physician's initial management of acute low back pain versus evidence-based guidelines: infl uence of sciatica. J Gen Intern Med 2005; 20: 1132-5.
31. Vroomen PC, de Krom MC, Knottnerus JA. Predicting the outcome of sciatica at short-term follow-up. Br J Gen Pract 2002; 52: 119-23.
32. Shreibati JB, Baker LC. The relationship between low back magnetic resonance imaging, surgery, and spending: impact of physician self-referral status. Health Serv Res 2011; 46: 1362-81.
33. Webster BS, Verma S, Pransky GS. Outcomes of workers' compensation claimants with low back pain undergoing intradiscal electrothermal therapy. Spine 2004; 29: 435-41.
34. Swedlow A, Johnson G, Smithline N, et al. Increased costs and rates of use in the California workers' compensation system as a result of self-referral by physicians. N Engl J Med 1992; 327: 1502-6.
35. Mitchell JM. The prevalence of physician self-referral arrangements after Stark II: evidence from advanced diagnostic imaging. Health Affairs (Millwood) 2007; 26: w415-24.
36. Kilani RK, Paxton BE, Stinnett SS, et al. Self-referral in medical imaging: a meta-analysis of the literature. J Am Coll Radiol 2011; 8: 469-76.
37. Paxton BE, Lungren MP, Srinivasan RC, et al. Physician self-referral of lumbar spine MRI with comparative analysis of negative study rates as a marker of utilization appropriateness. AJR Am J Roent-genol 2012; 198: 1375-9.
38. Lehnert BE, Robert L, Bree RL. Analysis of appropriateness of outpatient CT and MRI referred from primary care clinics at an academic medical center: How critical is the need for improved decision support ? J Am Coll Radiol 2010; 7: 192-7.
39. Johnson WG, Burton JF Jr, Thornquist L, et al. Why does workers' compensation pay more for health care ? Benefits Q 1993; 9: 22-31.
40. Taylor VM, Deyo RA, Ciol M, et al. Surgical treatment of patients with back problems covered by workers' compensation versus those with other sources of payment. Spine 1996; 21: 2255-9.
41. Deyo RA, Taylor VM, Diehr P, et al. Analysis of automated administrative and survey databases to study patterns and outcomes of care. Spine 1994; 19: 2083S-91S.
42. Faciszewski T. Administrative databases in spine research. Spine 1997; 22: 1270-5.