March 15, 2023: IMPACt-LBP Enrolls First Patient in Study of Collaborative Care for Low Back Pain

IMPACt-LBP, an NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory Trial, enrolled its first study participant this week. Congratulations to the IMPACt-LBP study team for reaching this important project milestone!

IMPACt-LBP investigators
Dr. Christine Goertz, Dr. Adam Goode, Dr. Jon Lurie, and Dr. Rishi Chakraborty

Led by investigators at Duke University and Dartmouth University, IMPACt-LBP is a cluster randomized trial of a multidisciplinary collaborative team approach for low back pain versus usual care. In the intervention arm, patients with a primary complaint of low back pain are referred to physical therapists and chiropractic doctors as first-line providers. The study will determine whether receiving first-line care from these “primary spine practitioners” improves physical function, decreases pain and opioid prescriptions, improves patient satisfaction, and decreases costs and utilization of healthcare services.

Logo for the IMPACt-LBP Demonstration Project

Learn more about IMPACt-LBP in this interview with investigators Christine Goertz, Adam Goode, and Rishi Chakraborty. The study was awarded continuation to the UH3 implementation phase last summer.

IMPACt-LBP is supported within the NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, with additional support from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

August 22, 2022: IMPACt-LBP Awarded Continuation to Implementation Phase

IMPACt-LBP investigatorsThe NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory is pleased to announce that the IMPACt-LBP NIH Collaboratory Trial received approval this month to transition from the planning phase to the implementation phase. This pragmatic clinical trial embedded in healthcare systems is studying implementation of guideline-based care for low back pain, a leading cause of ambulatory care visits in the United States.

Congratulations to the IMPACt-LBP investigators and their study teams for reaching this important milestone!

IMPACt-LBP will evaluate implementation of the American College of Physicians guideline for low back pain, which involves multidisciplinary collaborative care that includes doctors of chiropractic and physical therapists. The study will measure the effects of first-contact patient referral to these clinicians on physical function, pain, opioid prescriptions, and other patient-level outcomes.

Logo for the IMPACt-LBP NIH Collaboratory TrialThe study is administered by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health with additional support from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The project is led by Drs. Christine Goertz, Adam Goode, and Hrishikesh Chakraborty of Duke University and Dr. Jon Lurie of Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.

Learn more about IMPACt-LBP.