Ambulatory visit utilization in a national, population-based sample of adults with osteoarthritis.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To estimate the proportion of adults with osteoarthritis (OA) seeing various medical providers and ascertain factors affecting the likelihood of a patient seeing an OA specialist.

Methods

We used data from the Medical Expenditures Panel Survey, a stratified random sample of the noninstitutionalized civilian population. We classified adults as having symptomatic OA if their medical conditions included at least 1 occurrence of the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision Clinical Modification, codes 715, 716, or 719, and if they reported joint pain, swelling, or stiffness during the previous 12 months. For the purpose of our analysis, we defined rheumatologists, orthopedists, and physical therapists as OA specialists. We first estimated the proportion

SUBMITTER: Cisternas MG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2836231 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature