Thank you to all who attended our first Collaborative Wide Meeting on September 9th, 2022!

Michigan Back Collaborative (MIBAC) is a statewide quality improvement collaborative initially focused on better care for low back pain by “first-contact” clinicians – primary care physicians and chiropractors. It is one of the newest in the set of statewide collaborative quality improvement programs supported by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) and Blue Care Network (BCN).

More effective care patterns

Better outcomes for patients

Greater satisfaction for clinicians and patients

MIBAC Overview

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, use of unproven therapies, over-use of opioids, and dissatisfied patients who never do get effective relief of pain. There will be two components of MIBAC. The training component of MIBAC is on-line (or in-person when feasible), offered initially for primary care physicians and chiropractors – 90 minutes for PCPs, 100-minutes or a recommended twelve hours for 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 an 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 the Quality Improvement component 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) and Blue Care Network (BCN) 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.

2021 Achievements

Physician Organizations (POs) Engaged

first-contact providers trained

active champion groups formed from both POs and independent providers

Primary Care Physicians (PCPs) and Chiropractors (DCs) within our two champion groups consisting of highly respected first-contact providers

Testimonials

“Our family has been in chiropractic practice for over 95 years. We feel the MIBAC training reinforced current practices and protocols in our office. We also feel that it gave us additional training in management of acute low back pain cases. The aspect of opening up collaboration and referrals with other healthcare professionals is also a great plus. When individuals, groups, and offices work together for the good of the patient’s needs, favorable and cost-effective outcomes can certainly be achieved. We are proud to be a part of the MIBAC initiative.”

Sally Blossom, DC and Daniel Blossom, DC

“I went through the level 1 training and especially enjoyed the communication tips and the video for the back exam. I have used these tools to help educate my patients, and my patients have been very receptive to my recommendations.”

Emmanuel Dizon, MD

“The MIBAC collaboration has helped our clinic build relationships with local primary care physicians to help properly co-manage spine pain patients in an efficient manner in terms of triage, diagnosis and appropriate treatment. .”

Jeffrey Lupo, DC, FSBT, FACMUAP, CFMB

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