Dataset Information

Avoidable costs of physical treatments for chronic back, neck and shoulder pain within the Spanish National Health Service: a cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Back, neck and shoulder pain are the most common causes of occupational disability. They reduce health-related quality of life and have a significant economic impact. Many different forms of physical treatment are routinely used. The objective of this study was to estimate the cost of physical treatments which, despite the absence of evidence supporting their effectiveness, were used between 2004 and 2007 for chronic and non-specific neck pain (NP), back pain (BP) and shoulder pain (SP), within the Spanish National Health Service in the Canary Islands (SNHSCI).

Methods

Chronic patients referred from the SNHSCI to private physical therapy centres for NP, BP or SP, between 2004 and 2007, were identified. The cost of providing physical therapies to these patients was estimated. Systematic reviews (SRs) and clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for NP, BP and SP available in the same period were searched for and rated according to the Oxman and AGREE criteria, respectively. Those rated positively for ?70% of the criteria, were used to categorise physical therapies as Effective; Ineffective; Inconclusive; and Insufficiently Assessed. The main outcome was the cost of physical therapies included in each of these categories.

Results

8,308 chronic cases of NP, 4,693 of BP and 5,035 of SP, were included in this study. Among prescribed treatments, 39.88% were considered Effective (physical exercise and manual therapy with mobilization); 23.06% Ineffective; 13.38% Inconclusive, and 23.66% Insufficiently Assessed. The total cost of treatments was € 5,107,720. Effective therapies accounted for € 2,069,932.

Conclusions

Sixty percent of the resources allocated by the SNHSCI to fund physical treatment for NP, BP and SP in private practices are spent on forms of treatment proven to be ineffective, or for which there is no evidence of effectiveness.

SUBMITTER: Serrano-Aguilar P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3297536 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Avoidable costs of physical treatments for chronic back, neck and shoulder pain within the Spanish National Health Service: a cross-sectional study.

Serrano-Aguilar Pedro P Kovacs Francisco M FM Cabrera-Hernández Jose M JM Ramos-Goñi Juan M JM García-Pérez Lidia L

BMC musculoskeletal disorders 20111221

<h4>Background</h4>Back, neck and shoulder pain are the most common causes of occupational disability. They reduce health-related quality of life and have a significant economic impact. Many different forms of physical treatment are routinely used. The objective of this study was to estimate the cost of physical treatments which, despite the absence of evidence supporting their effectiveness, were used between 2004 and 2007 for chronic and non-specific neck pain (NP), back pain (BP) and shoulder ...[more]

PMID: 22188790

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Project description:ImportanceDelays in transfer for discharge-ready patients from the intensive care unit (ICU) are increasingly described and contribute to strained capacity.ObjectiveTo describe the epidemiological features and health care costs attributable to potentially avoidable delays in ICU discharge in a large integrated health care system.Design, setting, and participantsThis population-based cohort study was performed in 17 adult ICUs in Alberta, Canada, from June 19, 2012, to December 31, 2016. Participants were patients 15 years or older admitted to a study ICU during the study period. Data were analyzed from October 19, 2018, to May 20, 2020.ExposuresAvoidable time in the ICU, defined as the portion of total ICU patient-days accounted for by avoidable delay in ICU discharge (eg, waiting for a ward bed).Main outcomes and measuresThe primary outcome was health care costs attributable to avoidable time in the ICU. Secondary outcomes were factors associated with avoidable time, in-hospital mortality, and measures of use of health care resources, including the number of hours in the ICU and the number of days of hospitalization. Multilevel mixed multivariable regression was used to assess associations between avoidable time and outcomes.ResultsIn total, 28 904 patients (mean [SD] age, 58.3 [16.8] years; 18 030 male [62.4%]) were included. Of these, 19 964 patients (69.1%) had avoidable time during their ICU admission. The median avoidable time per patient was 7.2 (interquartile range, 2.4-27.7) hours. In multivariable analysis, male sex (odds ratio [OR], 0.92; 95% CI, 0.87-0.98), comorbid hemiplegia or paraplegia (OR 1.47; 95% CI, 1.23-1.75), liver disease (OR 1.20; 95% CI, 1.04-1.37), admission Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.02-1.03), surgical status (OR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.82-0.98), medium community hospital type (OR, 0.12; 95% CI, 0.04-0.32), and admission year (OR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.13-1.19) were associated with avoidable time. The cumulative avoidable time was 19 373.9 days, with estimated attributable costs of CAD$34 323 522. Avoidable time accounted for 12.8% of total ICU bed-days and 6.4% of total ICU costs. Patients with avoidable time before ICU discharge showed higher unadjusted in-hospital mortality (1115 [5.6%] vs 392 [4.4%]; P < .001); however, in multivariable analysis, avoidable time was associated with reduced in-hospital mortality (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.64-0.85). Results were similar in sensitivity analyses.Conclusions and relevanceIn this study, potentially avoidable discharge delay occurred for most patients admitted to ICUs across a large integrated health system and translated into substantial associated health care costs.

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Dataset Information

Avoidable costs of physical treatments for chronic back, neck and shoulder pain within the Spanish National Health Service: a cross-sectional study.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Avoidable costs of physical treatments for chronic back, neck and shoulder pain within the Spanish National Health Service: a cross-sectional study.

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