A Pragmatic Trial of Lumbar Image Reporting with Epidemiology (LIRE2)

The goal of this investigation is to study the effect of providing descriptive epidemiologic information to primary care providers on lumbar spine imaging reports. A pilot study by this group found that including information about the prevalence of abnormal radiographic findings among normals on the radiology reports of lumbar spine imaging reduced health-care utilization and the prescription of opiods to patients with low back pain who had abnormalities on the lumbar spine imaging. This will be a multicenter study using cluster-randomization techniques.

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