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For Immediate Release 7/29/08 Milwaukee Spine Specialists Are First Physicians In State to Earn NCQA Back Pain Recognition Milwaukee, WI — Integrated Spine Care (ISC) has been awarded Recognition by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) in the organization’s new Back Pain Recognition Program (BPRP). ISC is the first physician group in Wisconsin to earn this distinction that recognizes physicians and chiropractors that deliver superior, high-value care to patients with low back pain. The Integrated Spine Care practice, as well as each of its physicians — Clay Frank, MD, MD, and James Hollowell, MD — have all been singled out for Recognition in the NCQA Back Pain Program. The distinction is effective for the next two years. “We are honored to earn this elite Recognition,” comments Clay Frank, MD, an orthopedic surgeon and founder of Integrated Spine Care. “Through this new program, NCQA has developed standards of measurement for low back pain care and a structured means to identify those physicians who are attaining a level of care that meets these standards.” According to Frank, this NCQA program is an excellent tool to help patients with low back pain identify those physicians who offer care that best meets their needs, will restore their health and mobility, and help them avoid unnecessary treatment and tests. “And it will help to elevate the level of lower back pain care available everywhere, as providers strive to meet the NCQA standards,” he says. Through BPRP, the NCQA has made the first independent effort to systematically evaluate back pain care. Requirements for its program were developed from widely accepted medical evidence, with significant input from physician specialists and health plan and employer representatives. The goal of the Back Pain Recognition Program is to promote a model of care that includes: comprehensive patient assessment and reassessment; judicious use of imaging; patient education; and shared decision-making with the patient about surgery. “The BPRP program consists of 13 clinical measures and three structural standards that evaluate the various elements of a patient exam, recommended treatments and physician advice for the return to normal activities,” James Hollowell, MD, a neurological surgeon, explains. “Through this program, the NCQA is striving to really address the broad spectrum of low back pain and zero in on underuse, misuse or overuse of possible treatment modalities.” The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes says that nearly everyone at some point has back pain that interferes with work, routine daily activities, or recreation. Americans spend more than $50 billion each year on low back pain, and it is the most common cause of job-related disability and a leading contributor to missed work. Back pain is the second most common neurological ailment in the United States — only headache is more common. According to a May 16, 2007 article in the Wall Street Journal, studies show that as many as four in 10 imaging studies associated with lower-back pain are unnecessary, and as many as two in three epidural steroid injections are avoidable. About Integrated Spine Care About NCQA |