Arthritis and rheumatism
-
Arthritis and rheumatism · Jun 1999
Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical TrialReduced utilization and cost of primary care clinic visits resulting from self-care education for patients with osteoarthritis of the knee.
To determine the extent to which the cost of an effective self-care intervention for primary care patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) was offset by savings resulting from reduced utilization of ambulatory medical services. ⋯ Eighty percent of the cost of delivering effective self-care education to the knee OA patients in this study was offset within 1 year by the reduced frequency and costs of primary care visits. For >50% of patients receiving the intervention, the savings associated with fewer primary care visits exceeded the cost of self-care education.