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Table 4 Summary table for access and insurance papers.

From: Chiropractic and CAM Utilization: A Descriptive Review

Name

Ref

Design

N/Np

Main results

Cleary-Guida

71

Phone survey

70/43 (61%); NY, NJ, CT

Most insurers cover chiropractic, but to what level is not clear.

Metz

72

Analysis of claims data

3,129,000 with DC coverage; 5,197,000 without

Cohorts with chiropractic coverage had a rate of 162 complaints per 1000 member years, compared to 171.3 per 1000 for the group without coverage; patients use chiropractic are as a direct substitute for medical care, and not an add-on.

Shekelle

73

Analysis of data from the RAND Health Insurance Experiment

 

Chiropractic care was sensitive to price; levels of coinsurance of 25% or more led decreases in chiropractic expenditures by 50% or more; free access to care increased chiropractic use.

Gordon

74

Mail survey

1996–15,777; 1999–15,985; CA

Chiropractic was the third most CAM used, at 9.8%, but this more than doubled when looking at CAM use for musculoskeletal problems, to 21%.

Stano

75

Analysis of claims data

395,461 patients with appropriate ICD-9 codes

About 25% of patients were treated by chiropractors; those that did experienced lower health costs in the fee-for-serve sector, due to lower in-patient utilization.

Stano

76

Analysis of claims data

434,763

DCs were first contact providers for about 25% of all first episodes and 30% of all episodes. Costs for episodes with first medical contact were higher.

Lind

78

Analysis of claims data

601,044/104,358 (17%)

55% had at least one visit to a CAM provider; 65% of CAM visits were for LBP; 75% of visits for LBP were to chiropractors.

Thomas

79

Mail survey

5010/2893 (58%)

10.6% had sought care form at least 1 CAM provider; use declined in older age groups; chiropractic use in the last 12 months was 3.6%, but lifetime was 10.3%. Estimated total number of visits to chiropractors in the last year 7.48 million.

Phelan

80

Retrospective claims review

43,650

85% of claims were treated solely by MDs, 1% by DCs and 5% by both. Average treatment cost for medical care was $3519, and $663 for DC care alone; the combined group amounted to $4425 for the MD and $748 for the DC. Time to discharge for those receiving medical care was substantially longer than for the chiropractic care. Average total costs for claims was far lower in the DC group compared to the MD group or the combined DC-MD group.

Arcury

81

Mail survey

1059

Herbs, teas and other edible/drinkable remedy rated highest; chiropractic was used by 6.7% of the population surveyed.

Gray

82

Mail survey

5107/4404 (86%)

42% used at least 1 CAM therapy; chiropractic was used by 8%, and of those, 90% reported positive results.

Sarnat

83

Analysis of claims data

21,743

When CAM is integrated with conventional medicine, there is a 43% decrease in hospital admissions, fewer outpatient surgeries and reduced drug costs.

Legoretta

84

Analysis of claims data

700,000 with chiropractic benefits; 1,000,000 without

Those with chiropractic coverage had reduced annual costs compared to those without ($1463 vs. $1671); coverage led to a 1.6% decrease in total annual health costs.

Thomas

85

Mail survey

1226/964 (79%)

60% of those surveyed provided access to CAM; 21% offered CAM from another member of their team; 24% made referral to CAM practitioners (of which, 7.1% were referred to either a DC or a DO).

Hansen

86

Mail survey

500/191 (38%)

95% of those responding indicated satisfaction with chiropractic care.

Stewart

87

Comparison of benefit plans

1091

Only 1% of members used CAM during the study period, though the rate was higher in the PPO (1.2% compared to the HMO (0.6%).

Sawni-Sakand

88

Mail survey

1013; pediatric

Herbs and prayer used most, but chiropractic used by 18% of the study population.

Wilson

89

Telephone survey

1000/361 (36%); adolescents

54% used at least 1 form of CAM; massage most common (13.7%), and chiropractic at 6.7%.