Unrestricted Direct Access to Physical Therapist Services Is Associated With Lower Health Care Utilization and Costs in Patients With New-Onset Low Back Pain.

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most prevalent conditions for which patients seek physical therapy in the United States. The American Physical Therapy Association categorizes direct access to physical therapist services into 3 levels: limited, provisional, and unrestricted.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the association of level of access to physical therapist services with LBP-related health care utilization and costs.

Inappropriate Antibiotic Prescribing for Acute Bronchitis in Children and Impact on Subsequent Episodes of Care and Treatment.

Background: To examine whether inappropriate antibiotic treatment for an initial bout of acute bronchitis in childhood affects patterns of future healthcare utilization and antibiotic prescribing.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of children with at least 1 acute bronchitis episode, defined as the 14-day period after an acute bronchitis visit, born in 2008 and followed through 2015 in a nationally representative commercial claims database. We predicted the likelihood of returning for a subsequent acute bronchitis episode, and being prescribed an antibiotic as part of that episode, as a function of whether or not the child was prescribed an antibiotic as part of the first acute bronchitis episode controlling for patient, provider and practice characteristics.