Patient Success Spotlight
PHYSICAL THERAPY AS THE FIRST POINT OF CARE TO TREAT LOW BACK PAIN: A VARIABLES APPROACH TO ESTIMATE IMPACT ON OPIOID PRESCRIPTION, HEALTH CARE UTILIZATION, & COSTS.
“I feel privileged to have experienced the helping hands of all the PT staff!” “This physical therapy clinic glows with acceptance and encouragement towards all of its patients. The PT staff works cohesively, helping one another out as timers buzz or patients finish their “counted” exercises. Everyone remains focused on the people who are there under their care. I feel privileged to have experienced the helping hands of all the PT staff, including the office personnel who kept me coming on time, and the boss, Luis Zuniga, who, I feel, personifies everything for which Fyzical El Paso stands.” - Noel R.
OBJECTIVE: To compare differences in opioid prescription, health care utilization, and costs among patients with low back pain (LBP) who saw a physical therapist (PT) at the first point of care, at any time during the episode or not at all. DATA SOURCES: Commercial health insurance claims data, 2009- 2013. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective analyses using two-stage residual inclusion instrumental variable models to estimate rates for opioid prescriptions, imaging services, emergency department visits, hospitalization, and health care costs. DATA EXTRACTION: Patients aged 18-64 years with a new primary diagnosisofLBP, living inthenorthwestUnitedStates,wereobserved over a 1-year period. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Compared topatientswhosawaPT lateror never,patientswhosawaPTfirsthad lowerprobabilityofhavingan opioid prescription (89.4 percent), any advanced imaging services (27.9 percent), and an Emergency Department visit (14.7 percent), yet 19.3 percent higher probability of hospitalization (all p < .001). These patients also had significantly lower out-of-pocket costs, and costs appeared to shift away from outpatient and pharmacy toward provider settings. CONCLUSIONS: When LBP patients saw a PTfirst, there was lower utilizationofhigh-costmedicalservicesaswellas loweropioiduse, and cost shifts reflecting the change in utilization.
Relieve Back Pain In Minutes Try this movement if you are experiencing back pain.
Stretches Back
www.simpleset.net
SIDELYING TRUNK ROTATION While lying on your side with your arms out-stretched in front of your body, slowly twist your upper body to the side and rotate your spine. Your arms and head should also be rotating along with the spine as shown. Follow your hand with your eyes. Hold for 20 seconds repeat 3 times on each side.
© Health Research and EducationalTrust. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29790166
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