Low Back Imaging When Not Indicated: A Descriptive Cross-System Analysis.

Context: Guideline-discordant imaging to evaluate incident low back pain is common.

Objective: We compared rates of guideline-discordant imaging in patients with low back pain in two care delivery systems with differing abilities to track care through an electronic health record (EHR), and in their patients' insurance status, to measure the association between these factors and rates of ordered low back imaging.

Design: We used data from two Kaiser Permanente (KP) Regions and from OCHIN, a community health center network.