Improving care of patients with back and neck pain through innovative pathways. Final evaluation report for Queensland Health (QH), Clinical Excellence Division

Improving care of patients with back and neck pain through innovative pathways. Final evaluation report for Queensland Health (QH), Clinical Excellence Division

The problem
Back and neck pain is a widespread problem across Metro North Hospital and Health Service (MNHHS) and Queensland generally. Patients often spend years on waiting lists as they wait for the right care modality to become available, exacerbating their conditions and increasing reliance on medication while delaying their return to work.

The innovation
The back and neck pain pathways project introduced a streamlined triage and treatment pathway to address waiting lists and referral appropriateness. The triage point, known as the Spinal Health Hub, liaised with primary care to find the most appropriate modality for patient referrals. Patients were treated at the Healthy Spine Clinic where they were then treated or triaged based on further examination.

Key findings
The project was extremely successful at reducing waiting lists and costs per patient. Over a typical 2-year window, patients were more likely to avoid unnecessary services, inappropriate referrals, and long wait times. While health improvements were unlikely compared to standard care, there was an 84% chance that the program reduced costs, and the expected cost saving per patient was over $1,700. Over the MNHHS catchment area, this could reach nearly $6 million in savings annually. This greatly exceeds the cost of the intervention, with a positive impact expected after just one month’s worth of patients have been triaged.

Report not released to public by Queensland Health. For more information contact sonya.osborne@usq.edu.au.