Does Health Care Utilization Before Hip Arthroscopy Predict Health Care Utilization After Surgery in the US Military Health System? An Investigation Into Health-Seeking Behavior.

BACKGROUND: The influence of prior patterns of health care utilization on future health care utilization has had minimal investigation in populations with musculoskeletal disorders.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between presurgical health care utilization and postsurgical health care utilization in a population of patients undergoing hip surgery in the US Military Health System.

METHODS: In this observational cohort study, person-level data were collected for patients undergoing hip arthroscopy in the Military Health System from 2003 to 2015, capturing all encounters 12 months before and 24 months after surgery for every individual. Cluster analysis was used to categorize individuals with high and low health care utilization, based on preoperative health care visits. Unadjusted and adjusted Poisson and generalized linear models were generated. Health care utilization outcomes were targeted, including costs, visits, and medication use.

RESULTS: There were 1850 individuals in the final cohort (mean age, 32.18 years; 55.4% male). The high health care utilization group averaged 57.69 ± 25.87 visits, compared to 20.43 ± 8.36 visits in the low utilization group. There were significant differences between groups for total health care visits (58.17; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 57.39, 58.58), total health care costs ($11 539.71; 95% CI: $10 557.26, $12 595.04), hip-related visits (12.77; 95% CI: 12.59, 12.96), hip-related costs ($3325.07; 95% CI: $2886.43, $3804.51), days' supply of pain medications (752.67; 95% CI: 751.24, 754.11), opioid prescriptions (48.83; 95% CI: 48.47, 49.21), and cost of pain medications ($1074.80; 95% CI: $1011.91, $1137.68).

CONCLUSION: Presurgical patterns of health care utilization were associated with postsurgical patterns of health care utilization, indicating that those patients who used more care before surgery also used more care after surgery. Clinicians should consider prior patterns of health care utilization, including utilization unrelated to the index condition, when determining care plans and prognosis. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2018;48(11):878-886. Epub22 Jul 2018. doi:10.2519/jospt.2018.8259.