Projects

The project “Back innovative pain therapy with e-health for our patients” (Rise-uP) systematically analyzes how the treatment of back pain, which to date has often been of little effectiveness, can be improved.

For many people in Germany, back pain is part of their everyday life; one in five people with Statutory Health Insurance (SHI) visits a doctor at least once a year because of it. Despite the high prevalence, there is still no target-oriented treatment path. Misuse and overuse of treatment are often the case.

The central idea of this intervention concept is to eliminate the currently existing fragmented structures for the treatment of back pain patients and to develop treatment pathways. The Rise-uP treatment concept is based on early use of an assessment tool to measure the risk of chronification (STartBack questionnaire), a telemedicine networking software (Therapienavigator) and a medical app (Kaia). The focus of this intervention program lies on patients with acute and subacute back pain.

Methods

Rise-uP is a prospective cohort study with an intervention group and a control group in terms of an observational study (health services research study), with an observation period of 18 months. The evaluation includes the analysis of quantitative primary data from several validated questionnaires, as well as secondary data from i) routine data from a statutory health insurance, ii) data from a health app, and iii) data from telemedicine software.

The primary endpoint relevant to the number of cases is the patients’ pain level, which is measured using a pain index (Visual Analogue Scale, VAS). In addition, functionality and general quality of life are assessed. Within the framework of a health economic evaluation, it will be examined whether a significant change in the total cost of care exists. Furthermore, an incremental cost-effectiveness analysis is performed. In the incremental cost-effectiveness analysis, the costs per reduced pain index are calculated.

Publication

Priebe, J.A., Haas, K.K., Moreno Sanchez, L.F., Schoefmann, K., Utpadel-Fischler, D.A., Stockert, P., Thoma, R., Schiessl, C., Kerkemeyer, L., Amelung, V.E., Jedamzik, S., Reichmann, J., Marschall, U., Toelle, T.R. (2020). Digital Treatment of Back Pain versus Standard of Care: The Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial, Rise-uP. Journal of Pain Research 13: 1823–1838.