Articles: treatment.
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Breast and cervical cancer screening is critical to identifying cases at earlier stages in order to begin treatment earlier and improve survival. Screening rates have been shown to vary within the Military Health System (MHS). The goal is to estimate drivers of variation in screening rates within the MHS. ⋯ Our finding of higher screening in catchment areas with higher rates of purchased care warrants additional study to understand what factors may drive this result. The differential findings of the association between individual characteristics and breast and cervical cancer screening suggest important differences in these 2 types of screening with potentially different policies required to encourage and enhance breast vs. cervical cancer screening. Finally, our results showing higher screening among non-Hispanic Black women suggests important features of the MHS, such as universal, low-cost sharing coverage may help to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in breast and cervical cancer screening.
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Singapore medical journal · Nov 2024
Early physiotherapy referral for low back pain reduces healthcare utilisation for advanced imaging and specialist spine surgery consultations.
Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common presenting complaints among patients and the costliest orthopaedic condition. This study aimed to compare the healthcare utilisation rates of advanced imaging and specialist consultations for LBP between patients presenting with early physiotherapy (EPT) before specialist review and routine physiotherapy (RPT) after specialist review. ⋯ Early physiotherapy reduces the (a) overall treatment duration from the first referral by the primary physician, (b) number of advanced imaging ordered (and thus, associated imaging costs), and (c) total number of clinic and therapy sessions, and it is safe and allows patients to achieve comparable functional outcomes to their counterparts undergoing RPT. These findings support the implementation of EPT for patients with LBP to reduce healthcare utilisation and associated costs for patients, providers and healthcare systems.