Setting the Equation Establishing Value in Spine Care

摘要

Spine care is a focus of cost and quality efforts in the United States and throughout the world for several important reasons. First, spinal disorders and disability due to spinal disorders are very common. In the 2010 Global Burden of Disease Study, of the 291 conditions studied, low back pain was ranked highest in terms of years lost to disability, with 83 million disability-adjusted life years lost attributed to low back pain in 2010.1 Second, care of spinal disorders is very expensive. In the United States, 6% of adults see a physician for a back and neck complaint every year and the costs associated with these visits has doubled during the past decade, with physical therapy costs increasing most dramatically.2 Martin et aP analyzed Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data from 22,258 respondents in 2005. Of these respondents, 3187 reported spine problems, and those respondents who reported spine problems indicated that their medical costs were nearly twice that of respondents who did not report back or neck complaints ($4695 vs. $2731). These costs continue to increase despite a lack of information to indicate that these increased costs are associated with improved outcomes.