1. Department of Health Management and Informatics
A Study of Low Back Pain Treatment Modalities Using National Ambulatory Medical Survey (NAMCS) Data
Danielle N. Atkins, PhD
Department of Health Management and Informatics

2. Research Question
What are the predicting factors of treatment modality for lower back pain in the ambulatory care setting?

4. Data National Ambulatory Medical Survey (NAMCS)
A probability sample of outpatient visits to nonfederal, office-based physician practices
Can produce nationally representative sample of ambulatory patient visits in the United States
Includes data elements on:
Up to 3 diagnoses
Up to 30 medications
Other treatments (e.g., physical therapy)
Patient demographics
Practice characteristics

5. Probability of Treatment Modality for Orthopedic Specialists Compared to Primary Care Specialists
Orthopedic specialists were percentage points less likely to prescribe an opioid than primary care specialists.
Orthopedic specialists were percentage points more likely to order physical therapy than primary care specialists.
There was no difference between specialty for the likelihood of prescribing non-opioid analgesics.
+15.4 percentage points
No difference
-11.6 percentage points

6. Future Work
Evaluating the effect of electronic prescribing of controlled substances on adverse drug events and overdose morbidity and mortality.
Using Medicare claims data (Part D)
Mapping access to care and health outcomes using GIS

7. Thank you!
Danielle N. Atkins, PhD