Abstract
Low back pain is one of the most common reasons for visits to physicians in the ambulatory care setting. Estimated medical expenditures related to low back pain have increased disproportionately relative to the more modest increase in the prevalence of self-reported low back pain in the past decade. The increase in spine care expenditures has not been associated with improved patient outcomes. Evidence-based order templates presented in this article are designed to assist practitioners through the process of managing patients with acute low back pain. A logical method of choosing, developing, and implementing clinical decision support interventions is presented that is based on the best available scientific evidence. These templates may be reasonably expected to improve patient care, decrease inappropriate imaging utilization, reduce the inappropriate use of steroids and narcotics, and potentially decrease the number of inappropriate invasive procedures.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 704-712.e4 |
Journal | Journal of the American College of Radiology |
Volume | 9 |
Issue number | 10 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 2012 |
Keywords
- Acute low back pain
- clinical practice guidelines
- computerized decision support
- computerized order entry systems
- imaging utilization
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging