Our recent report found that more than 200,000 unnecessary back surgeries took place over a three year period, costing Medicare more than $1.9 billion. But what about the physicians responsible for this overuse? More
These hospitals are bucking the trend of back surgery overuse with rates below 5% for both spinal fusion and vertebroplasty. More
“Every field of medicine has more than the public realizes of stuff like this where the evidence doesn’t really support it that much,” Saini said. “When you do it across all of American health care, it’s actually a significant piece of the health care cost.” More
“Like everyone in America, older people with back pain deserve safe, evidence-based care that doesn’t waste taxpayer dollars,” Vikas Saini, M.D., president of the Lown Institute, said in a release. “Reducing unnecessary procedures, particularly invasive ones that carry grave risks, is a moral imperative.” More