Global advances in health and medicine : improving healthcare outcomes worldwide
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Glob Adv Health Med · Jan 2019
Psychosocial Effects of a Holistic Ayurvedic Approach to Well-being in Health and Wellness Courses.
As individuals are increasingly attending health and wellness courses outside of the conventional medical system, there is a need to obtain objective data on the effects of those programs on well-being. ⋯ Participation in wellness courses that incorporate a mind-body-spirit approach to health improves multiple domains of psychosocial well-being, which persists even after course participation.
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Glob Adv Health Med · Jan 2019
Patient Experiences With Integrated Pain Care: A Qualitative Evaluation of One VA's Biopsychosocial Approach to Chronic Pain Treatment and Opioid Safety.
Mounting concern about the risks and limited effectiveness of opioid therapy for chronic pain has spurred the implementation of novel integrated biopsychosocial pain care models in health-care systems like the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). However, little is known about patient experiences with these new care models. ⋯ We discuss the implications of our findings for national efforts to implement biopsychosocial pain care, and we offer recommendations to promote patient-centered implementation.
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Glob Adv Health Med · Jan 2019
Analysis of State Insurance Coverage for Nonpharmacologic Treatment of Low Back Pain as Recommended by the American College of Physicians Guidelines.
In 2017, the American College of Physicians (ACP) released guidelines encouraging nonpharmacologic treatment of chronic low back pain (LBP). These guidelines recommended utilization of treatments including multidisciplinary rehabilitation, acupuncture, mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), tai chi, yoga, progressive relaxation, biofeedback, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and spinal manipulation. ⋯ Other than spinal manipulation, evidence-based, nonpharmacological therapies recommended by the 2017 ACP guidelines were routinely excluded from EHB benchmark plans. Insurance coverage discourages multidisciplinary rehabilitation for chronic pain management by providing ambiguous guidelines, restricting ongoing treatments, and excluding behavioral or complementary therapy despite a cohesive evidence base. Better EHB plan coverage of nondrug therapies may be a strategy to mitigate the opioid crisis. Recommendations that reflect current research-based findings are provided to update chronic pain policy statements.