AkuGon

The Reality of Healthcare Provision and the Use of Acupuncture for Knee Osteoarthritis and Chronic Back Pain in Germany – An Analysis of Health Insurance Claims Data

01/06/2026 to 31/05/2027

Knee osteoarthritis (ICD-10 M17*) and chronic low back pain (M54*) are among the most common and costly chronic pain conditions in Germany. Both conditions lead to significant impairments in quality of life and contribute significantly to the high societal burden of musculoskeletal disorders. Since 2007, acupuncture for these two indications has been an integral part of care provided by physicians under the statutory health insurance system and can be billed to statutory health insurance (GKV). Based on nationwide GKV billing data, the proposed project examines the actual care situation for these patients during the period from 2010 to 2023.
The aim is to characterize the utilization, regional distribution, cost trends, and structural characteristics of acupuncture care in Germany. Furthermore, differences by gender, age, and comorbidity will be analyzed, and care patterns in different regions will be identified.
This project aims to contribute to the empirical description of integrative pain care in Germany. The results are relevant both for researchers in health services research and for health policy decision-makers, as they represent the first nationwide analysis of the implementation of an evidence-based complementary medicine service within the statutory health insurance system.