Integrating Epidemiological Information into MRI Reports Reduces Ensuing Radiologic Testing Costs Among Patients with Low Back Pain: A Controlled Study.
- Bill Weeks ,
- Jason Pike ,
- Christopher J. Schaeffer ,
- Mathew J. Devine ,
- John M. Ventura ,
- Jeremy Donath ,
- Brian D. Justice
The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety | , Vol 46(6): pp. 365-368
In the United States, spine pain treatment is expensive and increasingly uses guideline discordant evaluation and treatment modalities, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), (1) up to 60% of which are considered inappropriate. (2) Inappropriate lumbar MRIs are associated with a short-term cascade of related care costs, (3) potentially causing patient harm. (4)