Health Care Spending on Back Care Doubles in last Decadeby Today in PT
Back Care Costly and Climbing
As seen in Today in PT Magazine -August16,2010 Treating back problems cost Americans more than $30 billion in 2007 — up from $16 billion in 1997 (in 2007 dollars), according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. According to the analysis, about 27 million people (almost 12% of adults age 18 and older) reported having back problems in 2007 and more than 19 million sought treatment. About $18 billion went to physicians, chiropractors and physical therapists for ambulatory care. And $4.5 billion went to prescription drugs. This is up from $9.3 billion spent on office-based care and $1.2 billion on prescription drugs in 1997 (in 2007 dollars). The average expenditures for treatment of back problems were $1,589 per patient in 2007 ($1,146 for ambulatory care and $446 for prescription drugs). |
