Putting Spine Care in the Right HandsBy Editorial Staff With the guideline clarity we have, the current state of affairs when it comes to spine care is unacceptable. "No more research, no more data; just make this happen." That's the call to action urged by David Elton, DC, senior VP of clinical programs at OptumHealth, in a powerful presentation at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine in Washington, D.C. Dr. Elton presented during a recent two-day workshop at the NASEM titled: "The Role of Nonpharmacological Approaches to Pain Management," outlining the tremendous efficacy and cost savings associated with chiropractic and other forms of conservative care for spinal episodes; and the two-year plan to impact the 125 million consumers – in the majority of U.S. hospitals, Fortune 100 employers, health plans, and life sciences organizations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia – OptumHealth serves. Here are some of the key points from Dr. Elton's presentation: Clearly the Best Choice ... But Not Used Enough
Optum's two-year goal is to take front-door access to conservative care from 30 percent to 50-plus percent and timely referrals from self-selected medical providers from 2 percent to 10-plus percent. According to Dr. Elton, "[T]he actuaries have done the work, it's presented at the actuarial conference, the net of the increased conservative care will take out about 230 million in annual medical expenditures and reduce opiate prescribing for back pain by 25-26 percent." Here's how Optum plans to achieve its goal:
What if every health care organization followed OptumHealth's lead in embracing chiropractic and other conservative care options for pain management, particularly for back pain and related spine concerns? You guessed it: proper care, tremendous cost savings and millions of satisfied patients. Isn't that the way health care is supposed to work? Page printed from: http://www.toyourhealth.com/mpacms/tyh/article.php?id=2612&no_paginate=true&no_b=true |