Abstract
Objective
To examine utilization, treatment costs, lost workdays, and compensation paid workers
with musculoskeletal injuries treated by medical doctors (MDs) and doctors of chiropractic
(DCs).
Design
Retrospective review of 96,627 claims between 1975 and 1994.
Results
Average cost of treatment, hospitalization, and compensation payments were higher
for patients treated by MDs than for patients treated by DCs. Average number of lost
workdays for patients treated by MDs was higher than for those treated by DCs. Combined
care patients generated higher costs than patients treated by MDs or DCs alone.
Conclusion
These data, with the acknowledged limitations of an insurance database, indicate lower
treatment costs, less workdays lost, lower compensation payments, and lower utilization
of ancillary medical services for patients treated by DCs. Despite the lower cost
of chiropractic management, the use of chiropractic services in North Carolina appears
very low.
Key Indexing Terms
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Article info
Publication history
Received in revised form:
May 8,
2003
Received:
February 12,
2003
Footnotes
This work was funded by a grant from the North Carolina Board of Chiropractic Examiners.
Identification
Copyright
© 2004 National University of Health Sciences. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
