Why Boise Spine Surgery Rate is So High?
Joe Jaszewski
The Idaho Statesman
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Boise, Idaho (US):
Boise has the second-highest rate of back surgeries per capita in the nation, but the reason the rate is so high remains a mystery, doctors and health care professionals said.
To help find out why the rate is high and to make sure patients are not getting unnecessary surgeries, 13 local back surgeons, physical therapists and other physicians teamed up to form the Northwest Spine Care Institute.
The institute's goal is to "fit the treatment to the patient ... and then be able to look and see how that treatment worked," said Howard King, the medical director for the institute. "We try to do the right thing for the right patient at the right time."A high rate of back surgeries locally could mean some people are getting surgery when it isn't necessary, which could contribute to the high cost of health insurance since surgery is more expensive than other treatments.
Doctors working with the institute use a Web-based system to collect data on a patients' treatment programs and progress.
The system tracks data on how those treatments worked for patients with different types of back pain.In the future, area doctors will be able to compare their results with each other and with other doctors across the nation, said King, who also works as a surgeon at Intermountain Orthopedics located in Idaho Elks Rehabilitation Hospital.
Nov 02, 2005
Joe Jaszewski
The Idaho Statesman
________________
Boise, Idaho (US):
Boise has the second-highest rate of back surgeries per capita in the nation, but the reason the rate is so high remains a mystery, doctors and health care professionals said.
To help find out why the rate is high and to make sure patients are not getting unnecessary surgeries, 13 local back surgeons, physical therapists and other physicians teamed up to form the Northwest Spine Care Institute.
The institute's goal is to "fit the treatment to the patient ... and then be able to look and see how that treatment worked," said Howard King, the medical director for the institute. "We try to do the right thing for the right patient at the right time."A high rate of back surgeries locally could mean some people are getting surgery when it isn't necessary, which could contribute to the high cost of health insurance since surgery is more expensive than other treatments.
Doctors working with the institute use a Web-based system to collect data on a patients' treatment programs and progress.
The system tracks data on how those treatments worked for patients with different types of back pain.In the future, area doctors will be able to compare their results with each other and with other doctors across the nation, said King, who also works as a surgeon at Intermountain Orthopedics located in Idaho Elks Rehabilitation Hospital.
Nov 02, 2005
