Presurgical biopsychosocial variables as predictors of medical and compensation costs in lumbar fusion patients receiving workers' compensation

The societal burden of low back pain in the US is substantial, with tens of billions of dollars being spent on direct medical care alone. Low back pain is also a leading cause of disability, particularly among injured workers, extending its burden to workers compensation insurers and employers. How...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author Wheeler, Anthony J
Format Dissertation
LanguageEnglish
Published ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01.01.2012
Subjects
Epidemiology
Health sciences
Occupational health
Occupational safety
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Summary:The societal burden of low back pain in the US is substantial, with tens of billions of dollars being spent on direct medical care alone. Low back pain is also a leading cause of disability, particularly among injured workers, extending its burden to workers compensation insurers and employers. How low back pain is best treated is a highly controversial topic among researchers, and lumbar fusion surgery has become a procedure of particular interest in recent years. The present study sought to identify the medical and compensation costs accrued by a cohort of lumbar fusion patients covered by one workers' compensation insurance carrier. Further, the study attempts to identify patient characteristics which predict these costs using linear regression models. Study results are primarily of interest to workers' compensation insurance carriers, who may use the results as a starting place to developing early intervention programs for injured workers who may be at risk for poor surgical outcomes after lumbar fusion surgery.
ISBN:1267326913
9781267326911