Total healthcare use
| Healthcare resources | Cost (AUD) | MRI group | Control group | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Units | Total cost of service (AUD) | Units | Total cost of service (AUD) | ||
| Where applicable, values are median (interquartile range). Patients in the MRI group received a magnetic resonance imaging scan, and those in the control group did not. | |||||
| *p = 0.040 for difference in rank median general services units, and p = 0.41 for difference in rank median general services cost. | |||||
| †p = 0.68 for difference in median diagnostic services units, and p = 0.01 for difference in median diagnostic services cost. | |||||
| ‡p = 0.03 for difference in total units, and p = 0.187 for the total expenditure. | |||||
| General services | |||||
| Emergency department visit | 24.45 | 1 | 24.45 | 1 | 24.45 |
| General practitioner consultation | 24.45 | 8 | 195.6 | 24 | 568.8 |
| Specialist (initial consultation) | 119.35 | 7 | 835.45 | 9 | 1074.15 |
| Specialist (subsequent consultations) | 59.75 | 4 | 239 | 16 | 956 |
| Physiotherapist | 40 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 320 |
| Total general services per person* | 2.0 (1.0–3.0) | 119.35 (67.24–185.21) | 3.0 (2.0–4.5) | 228.0 (48.90–63.30) | |
| Diagnostic imaging services | |||||
| Radiographs | 28.05 | 3 | 84.15 | 14 | 392.7 |
| Skeletal scintigram | 295.1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1180.4 |
| MRI | 475 | 10 | 4750 | 4 | 1900 |
| Total diagnostic services per person† | 1.0 (1.0–2.0) | 475.00 (475.00–503.05) | 1.0 (1.0–2.0) | 295.10 (28.05–475.00) | |
| Total units/expenditure per person‡ | 3.0 (2.0–4.25) | 594.35 (551.05–667.23) | 5.0 (3.0–6.5) | 428.15 (124.40–702.65) | |