Health care utilization among Medicare beneficiaries with newly diagnosed back pain.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Low back pain (LBP) is the most common medical cause of disability among adults 65 or older. No previous study has characterized health care costs and treatment patterns of LBP among Medicare beneficiaries.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study quantifies health care utilization costs among Medicare beneficiaries with newly diagnosed LBP, compares costs between patients managed operatively and nonoperatively, identifies costs associated with treatment guideline nonadherence, and characterizes opioid prescribing patterns. Patients were queried via ICD codes from a 20% random sample of Medicare claims records. Patients with concomitant or previous "red flag" diagnoses, neurological deficits, or diagnoses that could cause nondegenerative LBP were excluded. Total co

SUBMITTER: Barros Guinle MI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11636345 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature