For the half of U.S. workers who suffer from a musculoskeletal (MSK) condition, surgeries have become an all-too-common solution — one to which both employees and their employers are looking for more affordable, low-impact alternatives.
New data from digital therapy platform Sword Health reveals that 36% of MSK-related surgeries are not necessary, and offering a more impactful alternative to "low value care" — medical interventions that do not offer a real benefit to patients — can help prevent these expensive, more invasive procedures. Should employees instead be able to find relief for their MSK conditions through methods such as physical therapy, they, employers and health plans stand to save at least $90 billion per year, according to Sword's research.
"There's a lot of ambiguity when it comes to the right care," says Dr. Vijay Yanamadala, chief medical officer at Sword Health. "We need one surgeon for every 10 physical therapists; instead, we have six surgeons for every two [non-surgical] pain specialists. Surgeries pay a lot more than non-surgical care, so health systems are incentivized to encourage them. Sometimes I see patients six surgeries down the road, worse off than they were before their first."
Read more:
The impact of MSK conditions on the workplace is exponential: In addition to significantly limiting employees' physical capabilities and impacting their mental well-being, they are one of the top healthcare cost-drivers for employers. The U.S. spends $505 billion annually on MSK treatment, and on top of specific coverage for pain, employers also get hit with indirect costs for the common side effects, such as absenteeism,
"These numbers show us we are able to get people back to work, more productive at work, and really engaged in a different way," says Yanamadala. "They've overcome their disability and their suffering, and they weren't tossed around to 10 different physicians in the process."
Read more:
When employers offer affordable access to proven therapeutic interventions for MSK conditions, they do more than just save themselves massive payouts. Eighty percent of the surgeries contributing to the low-value care cost were performed without first attempting physical therapy, according to Sword's research. Those for whom this is a viable option of treatment avoid not just missed work while recovering from surgery, but other treatments that yield only temporary relief (and additional risk), such as
Sword Health's
"We could make it so that 90% of surgeries are unnecessary tomorrow by teaching people the right way to move, the right way to prevent injuries and the right way to prevent degeneration of their joints and spine," says Yanamadala. "I tell every patient that I see in my clinic, the best surgery is no surgery, and I really believe it."
Read more:
In viewing the health of employees holistically, Yanamadala encourages employers to look for health benefit options that offer equitable, convenient access to effective care and the chance for long-term, positive change. To promote engagement, patient stories can prove most powerful, he says.
"Employers can look within their own employee ecosystem to find people who have undergone an unnecessary surgery or unnecessary care to help deliver this message in a very non-biased and non-aligned manner," says Yanamadala. "Every employer out there that's big enough has at least one or two employees who have undergone unnecessary surgery. Lean on [them] to help convey this message in a way that's trustworthy."
