Low back pain can be frustrating for both patients and clinicians. There is often no single cause for the pain that can be “fixed” with one simple approach to treatment. There can be unnecessary imaging studies and referrals, utilization of unproven therapies, overusing opioids, and dissatisfied patients who never get effective pain relief.

There will be two components of MIBAC. The training component of MIBAC is a 90-minute video available online (or in-person when feasible), offered initially for primary care physicians and chiropractors. The training offers a framework for treating low back pain, a set of treatment protocols to follow, and valuable takeaway “pearls” that will help you in managing your patients with acute low back pain.

Quality Improvement involves Patient-Reported Outcomes (PROs) utilizing a smartphone-based platform (PatientIQ) that will be initiated by the first-contact provider, plus the entry of clinical and demographic patient information into our registry. The data contributed during Quality Improvement populates the MIBAC registry and allows the collaborative to review and analyze data from the registry to identify “best practices” and opportunities for improvement. Furthermore, it enables us to work together on both state-wide and locally-focused quality improvement initiatives as a group.

MIBAC will involve physician organizations and individual BCBSM-contracted chiropractors from throughout the state. The Coordinating Center will be based at Henry Ford Health in Detroit, supported by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) as part of the Value Partnerships program. Although Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and MIBAC work collaboratively, the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily represent the views of BCBSM or any of its employees. The training modules are being provided by Spine Care Partners, a group with extensive experience in successful provider training in several other states, and the user-friendly Patient Reported Outcome (PRO) platform with built-in analytics will be provided by PatientIQ.