Logo of nihpaAbout Author manuscriptsSubmit a manuscriptHHS Public Access; Author Manuscript; Accepted for publication in peer reviewed journal;
PMC full text:
J Am Board Fam Med. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2015 Jul 23.
Published in final edited form as:
J Am Board Fam Med. 2015 Jul-Aug; 28(4): 481–490.
doi:  10.3122/jabfm.2015.04.150005
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Table 1

Characteristics of Medicare Patients According to Whether They Visited a Primary Care Physician for Back and/or Neck Pain
No PCP Visit for Back and/or Neck PainVisited any PCP for Back and/or Neck PainVisited for Back and/or Neck Pain, By PCP Specialty
Family Medicine PCPInternal Medicine PCP
National estimates, n in millions
 Patients14.73.01.41.7
 Visits for back and/or neck pain0.05.92.73.2
 Estimated expenditures on back and/or neck pain*0.01,345.2615.6729.6
Patient characteristics
 Mean age, years (SD)76.4 (7.2)76.6 (7.1)76.1 (7.0)77.0 (7.1)
 Sex, n in millions (%)
  Female8.5 (57.7)2.0 (65.1)0.9 (64.1)1.1 (66.2)
  Male6.2 (42.3)1.1 (34.9)0.5 (35.9)0.6 (33.8)
 Race, n in millions (%)
  Non-Hispanic white13.1 (88.6)2.7 (87.9)1.3 (89.4)1.5 (86.6)
  Non-Hispanic black1.0 (6.8)0.2 (6.4)0.1 (5.5)0.1 (7.0)
  Other0.7 (4.6)0.2 (5.6)0.1 (5.0)0.1 (6.3)
  Unknown0.0 (0.1)0.0 (0.1)0.0 (0.1)0.0 (0.1)
 Rurality of residence, n in millions (%)
  Urban8.5 (57.9)1.8 (59.1)0.7 (50.2)1.1 (66.6)
  Rural3.8 (25.7)0.8 (25.3)0.5 (32.0)0.3 (19.7)
  Unknown2.4 (16.4)0.5 (15.6)0.3 (17.8)0.2 (13.7)
 Charlson score, n in millions (%)
  07.7 (52.0)1.5 (49.1)0.7 (50.6)0.8 (47.6)
  12.4 (16.5)0.5 (16.7)0.2 (16.7)0.3 (16.7)
  21.9 (12.8)0.4 (13.9)0.2 (13.4)0.2 (14.4)
  ≥32.8 (18.7)0.6 (20.3)0.3 (19.3)0.4 (21.4)
  Unknown0.0 (0.0)0.0 (0.0)0.0 (0.0)0.0 (0.0)
All differences between those who did and did not visit any primary care physician (PCP) for back and/or neck pain are highly significant at P <.001; the t test was used to compare means and the χ2 test was used to compare proportions.

*Calculated by multiplying total visits by estimated cost per visit of $228.26

PCP, primary care physician; SD, standard deviation.