ArticleJournal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.)2016
Does Acupuncture Treatment Affect Utilization of Other Hospital Services at an Urban Safety-Net Hospital?
Article in Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.), 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Use of acupuncture among chronic disease patients attending primary healthcare facilities: a cross-sectional study in Korea.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2025Article
- Real-world impact of acupuncture on analgesics and healthcare resource utilization in breast cancer survivors with pain.BMC medicine · 2024Article
- Quality Indicators of Pharmaceutical Care for Integrative Healthcare: A Scoping Review of Indicators Developed Using the Delphi Technique.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2020Article
- Quality Indicators of Pharmaceutical Care in Palestinian Integrative Healthcare Facilities: Findings of a Qualitative Study among Stakeholders.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2020Article
- Development of Key Performance Indicators for Capturing Impact of Pharmaceutical Care in Palestinian Integrative Healthcare Facilities: A Delphi Consensus Study.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLittle is known regarding the interaction between acupuncture and biomedical healthcare among vulnerable patient populations. In particular, the association between acupuncture and total cost of healthcare has not been characterized.
methodsTotal hospital system visits and associated charges were retrospectively reviewed among patients who received acupuncture at a large safety-net hospital system from 2007 to 2014. Inclusion criteria were Medicare or Medicaid insurance coverage, older than age 18 years, and one or more on-site acupuncture appointments. Patients were stratified into five groups based on the number of acupuncture visits: 1-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12, or 13-15 treatments. The total number of biomedical hospital visits and total associated charges were compared 6 months before and 6 months after initiation of acupuncture.
resultsA total of 329 patients met our inclusion criteria. Although not statistically significant, there appeared to be an association between acupuncture treatment and a decrease in total hospital charges. The group receiving 1-3 acupuncture treatments showed a per-patient average increase in total charges in the 6-month period after acupuncture ($1771.34; p = 0.38). The patients who received 7-9 treatments showed the largest average decrease in total charges ($8967.24; p = 0.17).
conclusionThis study shows a previously unreported aggregate relationship between number of treatments and total healthcare charges in a single urban safety-net hospital. Given the sample size available and the heterogeneity of the patient population, no statistically significant associations could be established between initiation of acupuncture treatment and charges. However, some suggestive patterns were observed. Further prospective studies with a matched-group control are warranted to further explore this relationship. Additional study across wider locations is warranted to best guide practitioners and hospitals in designing efficacious, high-value integrative medicine programs.
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