Impact of Initial Provider Specialty on Longitudinal Care Patterns for New-Onset Neck Pain

Neck pain is common cause of pain and a leading cause of disability worldwide and can lead to substantial limitations to daily activities. Low back pain research has found that the initial care provider seen by a patient can significantly influence subsequent care patterns and costs. Research has started assessing the impact of the initial care provider on neck pain patients and preliminary work suggests that which provider a patient sees can affect subsequent treatments and imaging rates. One study conducted in Utah demonstrated that patients with acute neck pain who are initially seen by primary care rather than a specialty physician have lower rates of spinal imaging and injections during follow-up.

Could chiropractors play a role in mitigating healthcare costs and reproduce utilization for neck pain patients?

To the authors’ knowledge, the care of patients with acute neck pain based on the initial provider has not yet been evaluated in a national sample. Therefore, the goal of this study is to assess a national sample of commercial and Medicare Advantage enrollees to assess the relationship between provider types and treatment patterns for neck pain, as well as care pathways for neck pain treatment in the six months following the initial visit.

A sneak peak at the results: “Compared to patients seeing a primary care provider or specialist physician as their initial provider, patients who saw a chiropractor had substantially lower rates of imaging and invasive therapeutic interventions including injections and surgeries during the 180 day follow up period.”

RESEARCH REVIEW: Impact of Initial Provider Specialty on Longitudinal Care Patterns for New-Onset Neck Pain

This paper was published in Spine (2023)

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