The Self-assessment INTERMED Predicts Healthcare and Social Costs of Orthopaedic Trauma Patients with Persistent Impairments

Objective: To use the self-assessment INTERMED questionnaire to determine the relationship between biopsychosocial complexity and healthcare and social costs of patients after orthopaedic trauma.

Design: Secondary prospective analysis based on the validation study cohort of the self-assessment INTERMED questionnaire.

Setting: Inpatients orthopaedic rehabilitation with vocational aspects.

Subjects: In total, 136 patients with chronic pain and impairments were included in this study: mean (SD) age, 42.6 (10.7) years; 116 men, with moderate pain intensity (51/100); suffering from upper ( = 55), lower-limb ( = 51) or spine ( = 30) pain after orthopaedic trauma; with minor or moderate injury severity (severe injury for 25).

Main Measures: Biopsychosocial complexity, assessed with the self-assessment INTERMED questionnaire, and other confounding variables collected prospectively during rehabilitation. Outcome measures (healthcare costs, loss of wage costs and time for fitness-to-work) were collected through insurance files after case settlements. Linear multiple regression models adjusted for age, gender, pain, trauma severity, education and employment contract were performed to measure the influence of biopsychosocial complexity on the three outcome variables.

Results: High-cost patients were older (+3.6 years) and more anxious (9.0 vs 7.3 points at HADS-A), came later to rehabilitation (+105 days), and showed higher biopsychosocial complexity (+3.2 points). After adjustment, biopsychosocial complexity was significantly associated with healthcare (ß = 0.02;  = 0.003; exp = 1.02) and social costs (ß = 0.03;  = 0.006, exp = 1.03) and duration before fitness-to-work (ß = 0.04;  < 0.001, exp = 1.04).

Conclusion: Biopsychosocial complexity assessed with the self-assessment INTERMED questionnaire is associated with higher healthcare and social costs.