The cost of physiologic referrals to a pediatric orthopaedic clinic
Grant Recipient: Sumit Gupta, MD
- Institution:
- University of Missouri
- Additional Information:
- Final Summary report for POSNA microgrant (2017).
Title: Cost of Physiologic referrals to a pediatric orthopaedic clinic
PI: Dr. Sumit Kumar Gupta
Resident Investigator: Dr. Christopher Loftis
Date: Dec 1 2018
A brief summary description of your project, include what worked and what did not work.
We were interested in following the rate of physiologic referrals to our pediatric orthopedic clinic and also to define what the monetary burden on the healthcare system is, as to our knowledge, this has not previously been reported. We were able to identify all cases over a 6-month period that were referred to our clinic, and had a diagnosis that is considered within the realm of normal physiology. The cost associated with each visit was elucidated, and the difference between mid-level and physician providers was also measured.
Was the primary outcome measure of success reached?
The primary outcome was the cost associated with physiologic referrals to our tertiary care pediatric orthopaedic clinic. We found that this cost was around $10,000 per month, with a physiologic referral rate of 22.5%. Use of a midlevel did lower the cost, but this was not significant.
Future plans, presentations or publications as a result of this grant
Future plans will include a prospective study following an educational intervention in the primary care setting and following changes in physiologic referral rate over time, as well as savings to the healthcare system in the pediatric orthopedic clinic.
We plan on submitting for publication to the Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics.
Final expense report for the project
Research Assistant (for data collection, database query)
- Salary: $759.86
- Benefits: $240.14
- Total: $1,000.00
(formal expense report from University of Missouri Office of Sponsored Programs available upon request)
