[Less surgery and lower cost due to back pain in a care program with an interdisciplinary second opinion procedure : A controlled non-randomized intervention study based on claims data].

Background: There is no evidence of effectiveness for interdisciplinary second opinion procedures (ISOP) for recommended back surgery (BS). Since 2015, AOK Nordost has been offering the care program RückenSPEZIAL comprising a preliminary examination, ISOP, and optional interdisciplinary multimodal pain therapy (IMPT). The objective of this study is to determine the effectiveness of RückenSPEZIAL to reduce BS and back pain-related costs (BPRC) compared to patients who likewise received a recommendation for back surgery but not RückenSPEZIAL.

Chief complaints in medical emergencies: do they relate to underlying disease and outcome? The Charité Emergency Medicine Study (CHARITEM).

Objectives: To evaluate the relationship between chief complaints and their underlying diseases and outcome in medical emergency departments (EDs).

Methods: All 34 333 patients who attended two of the EDs of the Charité Berlin over a 1-year period were included in the analysis. Data were retrieved from the hospital information system.