In this article, we will discuss athletic trainers and cost effectiveness.
Have you ever heard of an athletic trainer?
Athletic trainer is a kind of sports trainer.
Athletic trainers are responsible for the health management of athletes, prevention of injuries and disabilities, emergency treatment of sports injuries and disabilities, athletic rehabilitation, physical training and conditioning, etc., in close cooperation with JSPO certified sports doctors and certified coaches, based on the certified sports instructor system.
From Japan Sports Association
A trainer is a person who is qualified to do these things.
This is a qualification that people who are working as trainers in the field of sports and people who have had sports injuries taken care of in osteopathic clinics long for, and it is also a qualification that people take in order to provide treatments in the field of sports.
In Japan, where many people consider qualifications to be supreme, this qualification is very popular, and it is not uncommon for people with qualifications such as judo therapists, acupuncturists, and physical therapists to take additional courses.
The paper presented here investigates whether the placement of athletic trainers (ATs) in high schools saves money on health care costs. In Japan, the birthrate is declining.
In Japan, the number of schools is decreasing due to the declining birthrate, so what is the cost effectiveness of the above mentioned narrow gate? This is why I think it will be helpful for those who are now getting certified or thinking about hiring AT.
The study
Hiring ATs in high schools may reduce the risk of injury, lower the cost of medical care received in the public and private sectors, and increase health care costs due to increased referrals to professional organizations.
Evidence on the economic benefits of actually using AT in high schools based on analysis of medical claims is lacking, so this is a study of that.
We analyzed a limited data set from 2011-2014 from the Oregon Health Authority's AllPayer All Claims database.
Using a paired t-test, we compared claims payments between periods when Oregon high schools employed AT and those when they did not.
We also used the percentage of AT initiatives to adjust for the investment in AT.
The main outcome measure was the return on investment associated with the adoption of AT in high schools.The enrollment of AT in Oregon high schools may have had a different impact on Medicaid and commercial insurance health care costs.
Between 2011 and 2014, the investment to hire ATs in Oregon public high schools increased Medicaid payments by 24 cents per month and decreased commercial insurance payments by 24 cents per month, although this was not statistically significant.
The results show that adopting AT in a high school outreach model does not necessarily save Medicaid or commercial insurance companies money on health care costs.
Further research is needed to determine if the lack of cost savings in the study was a factor of the employment model, due to increased health care utilization, or reflects the need for AT to provide more on-site AT services.
Discussion
First of all, the results of this study cannot be taken for granted in Japan, as the circumstances are different in the countries studied and in Japan.
However, if we look at the results of the study only in terms of the cost-effectiveness of AT, there seems to be no benefit.
In fact, in the case of urgent injuries in sports, AT is used to assess the injury, provide first aid, and arrange for an ambulance, so it cannot be concluded that AT is meaningless.
In this aspect, there is no negative side to hiring ATs, but some people may think that such emergencies do not occur frequently and that ATs are not necessary because the person supervising them should be able to respond to them.
In this age of information overload, it is possible to check the knowledge necessary for first aid and the degree of injury in a shallow range.
If the skill level of the AT is low, it is even more likely that an unqualified person will be the same. Some people may say, "If the AT is less skilled, why not use an unqualified person?
However, if people understand that this is not the only reason, the number of ATs employed in high schools and other sports fields will probably increase.
At present, ATs are generally hired at private high schools that are strong in sports and have a good understanding of and focus on sports.
And the fact that many sports trainers work as volunteers may also be a barrier to the spread of the profession.
I may be prejudiced, but I think the demand for ATs will increase if Japanese athletic personnel find that they are the standard in the U.S., and if they find that ATs are placed in high school personnel they know. I believe that the demand for ATs will increase.
I have not taken AT because some of my duties are similar to those of a judo therapist.
Li T, Norcross MF, Johnson ST, Koester MC. Cost-Benefit of Hiring Athletic Trainers in Oregon High Schools From 2011-2014. J Athl Train. 2019;54(2):165- 169. doi:10.4085/1062-6050-390-17
Conclusion
If you know that there are results like this, it may lead to an increase in the hiring of medical professionals in the current sports world.
If you look at it from one side, the results are negative, but if you look at it from another side, it may not be so negative.
