1. Chiropractic integration within a community health centre: a cost description and partial analysis of cost-utility from the perspective of the institution.
- Author
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Emary, Peter C., Brown, Amy L., Cameron, Douglas F., and Pessoa, Alexander F.
- Subjects
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CHIROPRACTIC , *COMMUNITY health services , *CONFIDENCE intervals , *COST effectiveness , *FISHER exact test , *LONGITUDINAL method , *MEDICAL care costs , *SCIENTIFIC observation , *QUESTIONNAIRES , *RESEARCH funding , *T-test (Statistics) , *SECONDARY analysis , *QUALITY-adjusted life years , *DATA analysis software , *DESCRIPTIVE statistics - Abstract
Objective: To evaluate costs and consequences of a new back pain service provided by chiropractors integrated into a Community Health Centre in Cambridge, Ontario. The study sample included 95 consecutive patients presenting between January 2014 to January 2016 with a mixture of sub-acute and chronic back pain. Methods: A secondary cost-utility analysis was performed and conducted from the perspective of the healthcare institution. Cost-utility was calculated as cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained over a time horizon of 90 days. Results: According to the EuroQol 5 Domain questionnaire, nearly 70% of patients improved. The mean number of treatment sessions was 8.4, and an average of 0.21 QALYs were gained at an average cost per QALY of $1,042. Seventy-seven percent of patients did not visit their primary care provider over the 90- day period, representing potential cost savings to the institution of between $2,022.23 and $6,135.82. Conclusion: Adding chiropractic care to usual medical care was associated with improved outcomes at a reasonable cost in a sample of complex patients with sub-acute and chronic back pain. Future comparative cost-effectiveness studies are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2019