Family physician referral rates for lumbar spine computed tomography in Newfoundland and Labrador: a cross-sectional analysis using routinely collected data
BACKGROUND: Reducing computed tomography (CT) examinations of the lumbar spine is one of Choosing Wisely Canada’s initial top 10 recommendations. This study’s objective was to report the age- and-sex standardized rates of lumbar spine CT ordered by family physicians in 1 health region in Newfoundlan...
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:6996032 2023-05-15T17:19:37+02:00 Family physician referral rates for lumbar spine computed tomography in Newfoundland and Labrador: a cross-sectional analysis using routinely collected data Logan, Gabrielle S. Copsey, Bethan Etchegary, Holly Parfrey, Patrick Mahoney, Krista Hall, Amanda 2020-01-21 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6996032/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31992560 https://doi.org/10.9778/cmajo.20190076 en eng Joule Inc. or its licensors http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6996032/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31992560 http://dx.doi.org/10.9778/cmajo.20190076 Copyright 2020, Joule Inc. or its licensors Research Text 2020 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.9778/cmajo.20190076 2020-02-09T01:38:22Z BACKGROUND: Reducing computed tomography (CT) examinations of the lumbar spine is one of Choosing Wisely Canada’s initial top 10 recommendations. This study’s objective was to report the age- and-sex standardized rates of lumbar spine CT ordered by family physicians in 1 health region in Newfoundland and Labrador. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study using local health data from Meditech, an electronic health record system, from 2013 to 2016 for the Eastern Health Region of Newfoundland and Labrador, the largest health region in the province. Records were included if the referral was for an adult aged 20 years or more, and CT was ordered by a family physician. Lumbar spine CT rates were contextualized with age- and sex-stratified estimates. Population estimates were provided by the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information to calculate age- and sex-standardized rates per 100 000 people. We calculated rate ratios to test for statistical significance in differences in rates between years. RESULTS: A total of 14 370 records were examined. The age- and sex-standardized rates of lumbar spine CT per 100 000 were 1225 in 2013, 1393 in 2014, 1556 in 2015 and 1395 in 2016. The rate ratio was 1.137 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.084–1.194) for the comparison between 2014 and 2013, 1.117 (95% CI 1.067–1.169) between 2015 and 2014, and 0.896 (95% CI 0.857–0.938) between 2016 and 2015. INTERPRETATION: The age- and sex-standardized rates suggest that there was a steady rate of lumbar spine CT examinations being ordered by family physicians in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2013–2016. Although all rate ratios were statistically significant, the magnitude of the difference between years is likely not clinically relevant. These rates are important because they serve as a benchmark for future initiatives to reduce unnecessary referrals for lumbar spine CT. Text Newfoundland PubMed Central (PMC) Newfoundland CMAJ Open 8 1 E56 E59 |
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Research Logan, Gabrielle S. Copsey, Bethan Etchegary, Holly Parfrey, Patrick Mahoney, Krista Hall, Amanda Family physician referral rates for lumbar spine computed tomography in Newfoundland and Labrador: a cross-sectional analysis using routinely collected data |
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Research |
description |
BACKGROUND: Reducing computed tomography (CT) examinations of the lumbar spine is one of Choosing Wisely Canada’s initial top 10 recommendations. This study’s objective was to report the age- and-sex standardized rates of lumbar spine CT ordered by family physicians in 1 health region in Newfoundland and Labrador. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study using local health data from Meditech, an electronic health record system, from 2013 to 2016 for the Eastern Health Region of Newfoundland and Labrador, the largest health region in the province. Records were included if the referral was for an adult aged 20 years or more, and CT was ordered by a family physician. Lumbar spine CT rates were contextualized with age- and sex-stratified estimates. Population estimates were provided by the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information to calculate age- and sex-standardized rates per 100 000 people. We calculated rate ratios to test for statistical significance in differences in rates between years. RESULTS: A total of 14 370 records were examined. The age- and sex-standardized rates of lumbar spine CT per 100 000 were 1225 in 2013, 1393 in 2014, 1556 in 2015 and 1395 in 2016. The rate ratio was 1.137 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.084–1.194) for the comparison between 2014 and 2013, 1.117 (95% CI 1.067–1.169) between 2015 and 2014, and 0.896 (95% CI 0.857–0.938) between 2016 and 2015. INTERPRETATION: The age- and sex-standardized rates suggest that there was a steady rate of lumbar spine CT examinations being ordered by family physicians in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2013–2016. Although all rate ratios were statistically significant, the magnitude of the difference between years is likely not clinically relevant. These rates are important because they serve as a benchmark for future initiatives to reduce unnecessary referrals for lumbar spine CT. |
format |
Text |
author |
Logan, Gabrielle S. Copsey, Bethan Etchegary, Holly Parfrey, Patrick Mahoney, Krista Hall, Amanda |
author_facet |
Logan, Gabrielle S. Copsey, Bethan Etchegary, Holly Parfrey, Patrick Mahoney, Krista Hall, Amanda |
author_sort |
Logan, Gabrielle S. |
title |
Family physician referral rates for lumbar spine computed tomography in Newfoundland and Labrador: a cross-sectional analysis using routinely collected data |
title_short |
Family physician referral rates for lumbar spine computed tomography in Newfoundland and Labrador: a cross-sectional analysis using routinely collected data |
title_full |
Family physician referral rates for lumbar spine computed tomography in Newfoundland and Labrador: a cross-sectional analysis using routinely collected data |
title_fullStr |
Family physician referral rates for lumbar spine computed tomography in Newfoundland and Labrador: a cross-sectional analysis using routinely collected data |
title_full_unstemmed |
Family physician referral rates for lumbar spine computed tomography in Newfoundland and Labrador: a cross-sectional analysis using routinely collected data |
title_sort |
family physician referral rates for lumbar spine computed tomography in newfoundland and labrador: a cross-sectional analysis using routinely collected data |
publisher |
Joule Inc. or its licensors |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6996032/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31992560 https://doi.org/10.9778/cmajo.20190076 |
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Newfoundland |
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Newfoundland |
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Newfoundland |
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Newfoundland |
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6996032/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31992560 http://dx.doi.org/10.9778/cmajo.20190076 |
op_rights |
Copyright 2020, Joule Inc. or its licensors |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.9778/cmajo.20190076 |
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CMAJ Open |
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8 |
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1 |
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E56 |
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E59 |
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1766094399482101760 |