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I am the general manager of a rehab department. We are located in a large hospital. We are starting to look into developing a multidisciplinary team approach to chronic low back pain. Everything I've read suggests that this type of treatment is expensive but worth it. How do I justify the cost to upper management?

The high cost of back pain begins with the vast number of people (employees) affected by it. Loss of work productivity while on the job and from days absent from work increase the costs for employers. And disability only adds to the total cost.

Many experts agree that a multidisciplinary approach is the best way to successfully treat patients with chronic low back pain (LBP). This method involves many types of treatment at the same time. The cost adds up when you are paying for a physician's services along with the physical therapist, psychologist, massage therapist, and so on.

However, studies show there's a higher rate of success when such a team of specialists treats patients. Pain is reduced and function improved. There are better long-term results than when patients are treated using a traditional biomedical model.

There's no doubt that a multidisciplinary approach does cost more than traditional medicine. But the cost is offset by fewer sick days. A cost-benefit analysis would be helpful in determining how many and what kind of sessions are needed for acceptable (cost saving) results.

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