Medicare savings from conservative management of low back pain.

CONCLUSIONS: Medicare beneficiaries with low-risk LBP frequently receive early imaging studies. Early imaging was associated with greater long-term costs than a conservative diagnostic strategy; Medicare expenditures could be reduced by $362 million annually by managing newly diagnosed LBP in accordance with clinical guidelines.
PMID: 30325195 [PubMed - in process]

Source: The American Journal of Managed Care - October 1, 2018 Category: Health Management Authors: Garber AM, Azad TD, Dixit A, Farid M, Sung E, Vail D, Bhattacharya J Tags: Am J Manag Care Source Type: research