Excellent Care for All

Low Back Pain Strategy

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Patient-centred, quality care must be at the heart of every interaction Ontarians have with the health system. Improving the quality and delivery of treatment for low back pain can make a life-changing difference to thousands of people in the province. This is why the province is currently rolling out a three-pronged Low Back Pain Strategy.

1. Evidence-based amendments to the Schedule of Benefits, improving access to patients most in need of diagnostic services became effective April 1, 2012.
2. Educational tools to assist you in better managing low back pain patients
3. Testing two new provincial models of care, which include :
   • The Inter-professional Spine Assessment and Education Clinics Pilot program which will help ensure that patients suffering from non-acute low back pain get timely access to assessment, education and shared-care treatment plans.
   • The Primary Care Low Back Pain Pilot program which is supporting inter-professional primary care teams to deliver better care to patients experiencing low back pain.
   Together these pilots will help to ensure patients with low back pain receive the right care, at the right time and in the right place.

A Low Back Pain self-management video for patients now released!

The video, created by Dr. Mike Evans (Health Design Lab) and developed in collaboration with the Centre for Effective Practice and the Institute for Work & Health, helps to educate patients experiencing low back pain by increasing awareness of self-management tools and techniques. Providers are encouraged to share this resource with their patients.

View the video >>

As part of the Excellent Care for All Strategy, the Ministry has funded a provincial initiative on low back pain that aims to enhance patient care, improve wait times and reduce inappropriate diagnostic utilization. Education tools have been developed to assist primary care providers in better managing patients with low back pain.

Find out more >>

Quick links

• Schedule of Benefits for Physician Services under the Health Insurance Act - Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
• Clinical Practice Guidelines: Low Back Pain
• Ortho Expert Panel

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Did you know?

Expert sources including the Bone and Joint Health Network, Back Care Canada and the Orthopaedic Expert Panel conclude :

• About 90 per cent of back pain is not caused by any serious underlying injury or disease.
• Although about 90 per cent of MRI back scans show abnormalities, these results do not impact treatment decisions in non-acute back pain. The majority of these abnormalities are due to natural “wear and tear”, are not caused by a serious underlying injury or disease and do not require invasive treatment.
• The majority of low back pain patients will benefit from lifestyle changes, which often leads to better outcomes for patients than diagnostic tests.