title: Compliance with clinical practice guidelines in family physicians managing worker's compensation board patients with acute lower back pain.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Family physician compliance with acute lower back pain clinical practice guidelines remains uncertain.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the degree of guideline compliance of family physicians managing patients with workers' compensation claims and acute mechanical lower back pain.
  
  
  METHODS
  Observational study.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred thirty-nine family physicians in British Columbia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Compliance with guideline recommendations for history, examination procedures, diagnostic testing and treatments.
  
  
  METHODS
  Physician workers' compensation board patient reports for acute lower back pain without leg symptoms and not greater than 2 to 3 weeks duration were scored for guideline adherence up until 12 weeks after onset.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Physicians demonstrated a high degree of compliance with the guideline-recommended history, examination procedures and medications, but low compliance with recommended imaging and many treatment recommendations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Recently published clinical practice guidelines regarding the management of patients with acute mechanical lower back pain have not been fully implemented into the patterns of practice of the family physicians.
authors: Combined Neurosurgical and Orthopaedic Spine Program, Heather Pavilion, Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada. pbishop@vanhosp.bc.ca
authors: Paul B
authors: PB
authors: Bishop
authors: Peter C
authors: PC
authors: Wing
mesh_terms: D015670:Acupuncture Therapy / Q000379:methods; D000328:Adult; D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001955:British Columbia; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D015444:Exercise; D005194:Family Practice / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities / Q000379:methods; D010821:Physicians, Family; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014942:Workers' Compensation / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics