Costs of Back Pain-Related Health Care and Work Absence Per Patient
| Health Care Resource | Cost, Mean (SD), £ | |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 (n = 233) | Phase 3 (n = 314) | |
| Primary care contacts | ||
| Family physician: surgery | 36.82 (53.5) | 32.38 (50.1) |
| Family physician: home visit | 0.45 (6.9) | 2.04 (20.5) |
| Practice nurse: surgery | 1.51 (6.2) | 0.80 (3.8) |
| Practice nurse: home visit | 0.09 (1.3) | 0.06 (1.1) |
| Physiotherapy service | ||
| NHS | 33.15 (60.8) | 45.09 (77.2) |
| Private health care | 13.82 (63.7) | 11.90 (40.8) |
| Hospital-based care | ||
| NHS consultant | 33.64 (84.5) | 29.95 (80.7) |
| NHS admissions | 9.79 (91.6) | 12.84 (116.9) |
| NHS radiograph | 4.39 (12.9) | 3.97 (11.0) |
| NHS CT scan | 0.43 (6.6) | 1.32 (11.2) |
| NHS MRI scan | 16.90 (55.0) | 17.38 (53.9) |
| NHS blood tests | 0.30 (2.2) | 0.06 (1.0) |
| NHS epidural injections | 3.51 (26.6) | 2.09 (19.9) |
| Private consultant | 15.54 (71.5) | 9.25 (55.2) |
| Private admissions | 4.97 (75.8) | 3.68 (65.3) |
| Private diagnostic tests | 3.07 (23.3) | 3.80 (25.4) |
| Private epidural injections | 0.88 (13.4) | 0.02 (0.1) |
| Other health care professionals | ||
| NHS acupuncture | 2.44 (17.5) | 1.83 (20.6) |
| NHS osteopathy | 0.16 (2.5) | 3.19 (20.8) |
| NHS “other” | 8.52 (46.7) | 4.96 (33.9) |
| Private acupuncture | 11.90 (67.1) | 3.34 (23.3) |
| Private osteopathy | 11.08 (37.0) | 9.02 (38.7) |
| Private “other” | 15.41 (63.0) | 4.85 (24.7) |
| Out-of-pocket treatmentsa | 15.69 (53.0) | 17.50 (83.7) |
| Prescribed medicationa | 17.32 (80.1) | 6.56 (19.5) |
| Work absence costs: time off work due to low back painb | 758.75 (2481.3) | 358.95 (1160.4) |
CT = computed tomography; MRI = magnetic resonance imaging; NHS = National Health Service.
Notes: Analyses were among patients providing responses to the resource use questions at 6 months.
↵a Aggregate estimate that combines analgesics (nonopioid and weak opioid), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, gels, creams, sprays, aids, and appliances.
↵b The estimation of indirect costs focused on respondents in paid employment at 6-month follow-up: 132 of 229 (58%) in phase 1 and 158 of 310 (51%) in phase 3.