TY - JOUR
T1 - Predicting direct healthcare costs of general practitioner–guided care in patients with musculoskeletal complaints
AU - Pellekooren, Sylvia
AU - Ben, Ângela J.
AU - van Dongen, Johanna M.
AU - Pool-Goudzwaard, Annelies L.
AU - van Tulder, Maurits W.
AU - van den Berg, Jesse M.
AU - Ostelo, Raymond W.J.G.
N1 - Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2023 The Author(s).
PY - 2024/2/1
Y1 - 2024/2/1
N2 - Information on healthcare utilization and costs of general practitioner (GP)–guided care in patients with musculoskeletal complaints is important for keeping healthcare affordable and accessible. A registry-based study was performed to describe healthcare utilization and costs of GP-guided care in patients with musculoskeletal complaints and to predict having higher direct healthcare costs. Healthcare costs of GP-guided care included all healthcare resources used by patients due to a musculoskeletal condition in 2018. Data were extracted from the database with a 1-year follow-up and descriptively analyzed. A general linear model was developed to predict having higher direct healthcare costs. In total, 403,719 patients were included, of whom 92% only received a single consultation. The number of referrals varied across the different types of complaints. Total annual direct healthcare costs amounted to €39,180,531, of which a key cost driver was referrals. Primary care consultations accounted for the largest part of referral-related costs. For all musculoskeletal conditions combined, the mean annual direct healthcare cost per patient was €97 (SEM 5 €0.18). Older age, being a woman, low socioeconomic status, spine complaints, high number of musculoskeletal diagnoses, and a high comorbidity score were predictive of having higher direct healthcare costs and explained 0.7% of the variance. This study showed that mean annual direct healthcare costs of GP-guided care in patients with musculoskeletal conditions were relatively low and did not differ considerably across conditions. The predictive model explained a negligible part of the variance in costs. Thus, it is unclear which factors do predict high direct healthcare costs in this population.
AB - Information on healthcare utilization and costs of general practitioner (GP)–guided care in patients with musculoskeletal complaints is important for keeping healthcare affordable and accessible. A registry-based study was performed to describe healthcare utilization and costs of GP-guided care in patients with musculoskeletal complaints and to predict having higher direct healthcare costs. Healthcare costs of GP-guided care included all healthcare resources used by patients due to a musculoskeletal condition in 2018. Data were extracted from the database with a 1-year follow-up and descriptively analyzed. A general linear model was developed to predict having higher direct healthcare costs. In total, 403,719 patients were included, of whom 92% only received a single consultation. The number of referrals varied across the different types of complaints. Total annual direct healthcare costs amounted to €39,180,531, of which a key cost driver was referrals. Primary care consultations accounted for the largest part of referral-related costs. For all musculoskeletal conditions combined, the mean annual direct healthcare cost per patient was €97 (SEM 5 €0.18). Older age, being a woman, low socioeconomic status, spine complaints, high number of musculoskeletal diagnoses, and a high comorbidity score were predictive of having higher direct healthcare costs and explained 0.7% of the variance. This study showed that mean annual direct healthcare costs of GP-guided care in patients with musculoskeletal conditions were relatively low and did not differ considerably across conditions. The predictive model explained a negligible part of the variance in costs. Thus, it is unclear which factors do predict high direct healthcare costs in this population.
KW - General practice
KW - Healthcare costs
KW - Musculoskeletal complaints
KW - Primary care
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85182501034&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000003028
DO - 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000003028
M3 - Article
C2 - 37590126
SN - 0304-3959
VL - 165
SP - 404
EP - 411
JO - Pain
JF - Pain
IS - 2
ER -