Pittsburgh-Area Hospitals Flagged for High Rates of Possibly Needless Back Surgeries
SEWICKLEY, Pa. - Heritage Valley Sewickley and St.Clair Hospital were identified in a new report by the Lown Institute as having higher-than-average rates of performing spinal fusions and vertebroplasties deemed potentially unnecessary, according too findings released today. The report,analyzing Medicare claims data from 2020 to 2023,estimates these procedures cost the Medicare program nearly $2 billion nationwide.
St.Clair Hospital was cited as the most likely hospital in Pennsylvania to utilize the procedures, the report states. The Lown Institute, a nonpartisan think tank focused on health outcomes, identified over 200,000 such procedures across the country.
Spinal fusions and vertebroplasties can be appropriate for certain conditions, but the Lown Institute argues they are frequently overused. The report cites studies suggesting vertebroplasties show little benefit over a placebo. Both procedures were recently included on a list of 17 treatments considered overused or prone to waste, fraud, and abuse by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Thomas Pangburn, chief medical officer for Heritage Valley, defended the hospital’s practices, stating the report lacks specificity regarding symptoms leading to recommendations for spinal fusions. He also noted that a majority of Medicare patients receiving the procedure are initially approved by the federal program.
Mount Nittany Medical Center was also named in the report, representing a slight improvement in overuse rates compared to last year’s findings, which also included Heritage Valley Sewickley.
Neither St. clair Hospital nor Mount Nittany Medical Center responded to requests for comment.
“Every field of medicine has more than the public realizes of stuff like this where the evidence doesn’t really support it that much,” said Dr. Vikas Saini, president of the Lown Institute. “when you do it across all of American health care,it’s actually a significant piece of the health care cost.”
Saini suggested high overuse rates, particularly at smaller hospitals, could be linked to individual physician preferences or broader organizational culture. Though, identifying the specific drivers remains challenging. This is the second annual report on back surgeries from the Lown Institute.
