Impacts of a Re-designed Care Path for Back Pain Directing Patients to Physiotherapists: A Pre-Post Intervention Study.

Objective: To evaluate impact of directing patients with back pain for first visit to a physiotherapist on sick leaves, healthcare utilization, and patient satisfaction.

Methods: Pre-post intervention study of 70,138 patients treated in Poland for back pain: 27,034 before the care pathway redesign and 43,104 after.

Results: After the redesign, all per-patient measures (mean ± SD) significantly decreased over the 12-month follow-up: sick leaves number from 0.

Evidence-Based Care Reduces Unnecessary Medical Procedures and Healthcare Costs in the Outpatient Setting.

Objectives: The study aimed to examine the number of unnecessary medical procedures and healthcare costs with the use of the educational intervention in Poland.

Methods: Secondary data were collected between 2014 and 2015. Analysis of events and cost per patient revealed significant variability and overutilization of diagnostics and other services by physicians practicing in a network of private outpatient clinics in Poland.