ArticleJournal of pain research2017
Impact of a value-based insurance design for physical therapy to treat back pain on care utilization and cost.
Article in Journal of pain research, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 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.
The trial behind it
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
9 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Predictive factors for care intensification in a no co-pay physical therapy model for musculoskeletal pain.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Episode of Care Characteristics Following Implementation of a No Copay Physical Therapy Program for Musculoskeletal Conditions.Physical therapy · 2025Article
- Associations Between Management Pathway and Opioid Prescriptions for Patients Entering the Emergency Department With Neck and Back Pain.Mayo Clinic proceedings. Innovations, quality & outcomes · 2023Article
- Strategies to Increase Access to Outpatient Physiotherapy Services: A Scoping Review.Physiotherapy Canada. Physiotherapie Canada · 2022Article
- Development of a Logic Model for a Programme to Reduce the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Rate for Non-Specific Lower Back Pain in a Tertiary Care Centre.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Feasibility study and process evaluation of MRI plus physiotherapy vs. physiotherapy alone in non-specific chronic low back pain among patients in Saudi Arabia.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2020Article
- Enhancing Access to Physical Therapy Services for People Experiencing Poverty and Homelessness: The Lighthouse Pilot Project.Physiotherapy Canada. Physiotherapie Canada · 2019Article
- Self-reported use of family physician, chiropractor and physiotherapy services among adult Canadians with chronic back disorders: an observational study.BMC health services research · 2018Observational
- Looking ahead: chronic spinal pain management.Journal of pain research · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo assess the impact of a value-based insurance design providing enhanced access to physical therapy (PT) for treatment of back pain on treatment patterns and cost of care. STUDY
designA retrospective analysis of claims data obtained from Geisinger Health Plan (GHP). In April 2013, GHP began offering "PT bundle" - i.e., a bundle of up to five PT visits for a single one-time copay that can be renewed for another bundle of five PT visits - for its employer-based plan members with back pain.
methodsA cohort of GHP members who were preauthorized for the PT bundle were compared against a contemporaneous cohort of GHP members who were preauthorized for PT under the standard per-visit copay arrangement between January 2013 and October 2014.
resultsAmong the PT bundle cohort, the PT visit rate during the first 9 months since the PT preauthorization date had dramatically increased and then gradually decreased in subsequent months. The PT bundle was also associated with 29%-35% short-term reductions in emergency department visits and with 12%-20% reductions in primary care visits after 6 months. No significant impact on hospitalization or cost was observed.
conclusionImplementation of the PT bundle appears to have led to a change in the treatment pattern of back pain that is more consistent with the recommended guidelines to use more conservative management such as PT as the first-line treatment for back pain.
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Registered trials
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