These fifteen hospitals prove that avoiding unnecessary back surgery is possible
In our recent overuse report, we found that U.S. hospitals performed more than 200,000 unnecessary back surgeries, costing Medicare more than $1.9 billion over three years. Using Medicare and Medicare Advantage claims data, Lown researchers examined trends in overuse of spinal fusion/laminectomy (fusing together or removing vertebrae to treat back pain), and vertebroplasty (injecting medical-grade cement to treat compression spinal fractures).
Nationwide, the overuse rate for spinal fusion/laminectomy was 13% and the overuse rate for vertebroplasty was 10%, although some hospitals had overuse rates over 50%.
At the same time, a small group of hospitals are bucking the trend, with overuse rates below 5% for both spinal fusion and vertebroplasty.
Hospitals with low rates of both spinal fusion and vertebroplasty overuse
| Hospital | Spinal fusion overuse rate | Vertebroplasty overuse rate |
|---|---|---|
| Erlanger Baroness Hospital (TN) | 2.14% | 2.62% |
| Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center (OR) | 4.89% | 2.96% |
| Keck Hospital Of USC (CA) | 3.93% | 4.17% |
| M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center (MN) | 4.53% | 2.88% |
| McBride Orthopedic Hospital (OK) | 1.51% | 0.99% |
| Morristown Medical Center (NJ) | 2.54% | 0.91% |
| Pardee Hospital (NC) | 4.85% | 2.67% |
| Providence St. Vincent Medical Center (OR) | 4.07% | 2.92% |
| St Vincent Regional Hospital (MT) | 4.96% | 2.26% |
| Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare (FL) | 3.98% | 2.93% |
| UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central (CO) | 4.08% | 4.07% |
| UC Medical Center (OH) | 4.42% | 0.45% |
| UC San Diego Medical Center (CA) | 2.38% | 2.51% |
| St. George Regional Hospital (UT) | 4.74% | 2.87% |
| Swedish First Hill Campus (WA) | 3.23% | 3.24% |
In all, 15 hospitals had overuse rates under 5% for spinal fusion and vertebroplasty, demonstrating commitment to avoiding low-value back surgeries. Of these hospitals, most (8 of 15) are in Western states.
To see more about back surgery overuse, including state results and the best hospitals for each specific procedure, see our full report.