Fortune 500s Waste Over $500 Million a Year on Unnecessary Back Surgeries for Workers

Over $1.5 Billion Lost in Worker Productivity Says Two-Year
Findings
PEMBROKE, Mass.--(Business Wire)--
Fortune 500s spend over $500 million a year on avoidable back
surgeries for their workers and lose as much as $1.5 billion in
indirect costs associated with these procedures in the form of missed
work and lost productivity, according to a two-year study by
Consumer's Medical Resource (CMR).

CMR's study, "Back Surgery: A Costly Fortune 500 Burden," found
one out of three workers recommended for back surgery by their doctor
said they avoided an unnecessary procedure after being given
independent, high-quality medical research on their diagnosed
condition and treatment options. In addition, those patients that
refused surgery and opted for alternative and less invasive procedures
to treat their back pain reported healthier and more personally
satisfying outcomes.

The study was conducted by CMR, the leader in medical decision
support (MDS(TM)), based on survey responses and interviews with 300
Fortune 500 employees diagnosed with one of six major medical
conditions, such as low back pain (LBP) in which treatment options
vary significantly.

"Back Surgery: A Costly Fortune 500 Burden" examined how the
quality of patient decision-making changed when workers were presented
with independent, comprehensive, and personalized medical research on
their diagnosed condition. This included being fully informed of all
options, outcomes, benefits and risks before making a treatment
decision with a doctor. CMR's findings revealed total direct cost
savings for avoided surgery for a sample group of 100 back patients to
be $1 million.

"Our research concludes Fortune 500 companies are wasting $500
million each year from more than 13,000 unnecessary back surgeries
performed on their employees in the U.S. each year," said David Hines,
president and founder of CMR. "Productivity losses associated with
back surgery indicate the figure is exponentially higher. We estimate
these companies are losing $1.5 billion in worker productivity, as
well."

CMR also studied workers recommended for surgery with
physician-confirmed diagnoses of breast cancer, prostate cancer,
endometriosis, uterine fibroids, and arthritis in the knee or hip to
discover how their treatment decisions were affected when better
educated on their medical conditions and treatment options.

According to experts, back pain ranks second only to headaches as
the most frequent pain people experience. It is the most common cause
of job-related disability and a leading contributor to missed work.
According to various sources, as many as 100 million working days are
lost each year due to back pain. Although back procedures are high
volume, high cost surgeries, some studies comparing surgical and
non-surgical treatment outcomes have shown little difference between
the two approaches. The average cost of back surgery in the U.S. is
$36,000 to $38,200.

"Unnecessary surgeries and rising health care costs will continue
until patients are better informed about their medical options," added
Hines. "By supporting employees to become truly informed health care
consumers Fortune 500s can contribute the greatest benefit to their
workers and to their bottom-line."

About Consumer's Medical Resource (CMR)

Consumer's Medical Resource (CMR) introduced Medical Decision
Support (MDS(TM)) to the American marketplace 12 years ago. CMR is the
first company in the U.S. to provide Fortune 500, and large company
employees, access to real-time, interactive, objective, and highly
customized medical information on serious and complicated illnesses
and treatment options. Unlike any other medical information provider,
CMR is staffed by leading physicians from Top 5 medical schools and
researchers from the clinical perspective who draw upon the latest
advances in medical research and technology to equip patients to be
fully informed and involved health care consumers. The company has
been featured in leading books and the national media for its
innovations in corporate health care. CMR is headquartered in
Pembroke, Mass. For more information on CMR, visit the company's
website at www.consumersmedical.com.

Mortimer Communications for CMR
Marina Mortimer, 508-746-5441
junglefighters@aol.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008