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. 2020 Sep;45(9):813-819.
doi: 10.1016/j.jhsa.2020.05.004. Epub 2020 Jul 25.

Feasibility of Quality Measures for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Tom J Crijns  1 , David Ring  1 , Nina Leung  1 , Robin N Kamal  2 ; AAOS and ASSH Carpal Tunnel Quality Measures Workgroup
Collaborators, Affiliations

Feasibility of Quality Measures for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Tom J Crijns et al. J Hand Surg Am. 2020 Sep.

Abstract

Purpose: The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the American Society for Surgery of the Hand developed candidate quality measures for potential inclusion in the Merit-Based Incentive Program and National Quality Forum in the hope that hand surgeons could report specialty-specific data. The following measures regarding the management of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) were developed using a Delphi consensus process: (1) use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for diagnosis of CTS, (2) use of adjunctive surgical procedures during carpal tunnel release (CTR), and (3) use of formal occupational and/or physical therapy after CTR. This study simulated attempts to identify outlier regions in an insurance claims database, which is an important step in establishing feasibility of these measures.

Methods: Using the Truven Health MarketScan, we identified 643,357 patients who were given a diagnosis of CTS between 2012 and 2014. We reported the percentage of metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) with one or more claims for MRI within 90 days of CTS diagnosis, one or more adjunctive surgical procedures, and one or more formal referrals for physical and/or occupational therapy within 6 weeks of CTR, and we calculated the rate of use for each of these diagnostic or treatment modalities. In addition, we report the precision ratio (signal to noise), SD, and 95% confidence interval.

Results: A high percentage of patients given a diagnosis of CTS did not have MRI (99%), and the precision ratio was considered high (0.99). Over 30% of all observed MSAs had at least one claim for MRI as a diagnostic modality in CTS. Most patients (98%) did not have adjunctive surgical procedures. For the observed years, over 28% of MSAs had at least one insurance claim for an adjunctive procedure. A total of 86% of patients did not receive formal occupational or physical therapy after CTR. In addition, 92% of MSAs had at least one claim for therapy. The precision ratio was considered high (approximately 0.85).

Conclusions: There is regional variation in the utilization rate of diagnostic MRI for CTS, adjunctive surgical procedures, and formal referral for physical and occupational therapy. For the proposed quality measures, outlier regions can be detected in insurance claims data.

Clinical relevance: Use of MRI in diagnosis, adjunctive surgical procedures, and formal therapy after surgery are feasible quality measures for the Merit-Based Incentive Program and National Quality Forum.

Keywords: AAOS; ASSH; adherence; adjunctive surgical procedures; carpal tunnel syndrome.

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Figures

FIGURE 1:
FIGURE 1:
Routine use of MRI for the diagnosis of CTS by MSA in the United States in 2012.
FIGURE 2:
FIGURE 2:
Use of adjunctive surgical procedures during CTR by MSA in the United States in 2012.
FIGURE 3:
FIGURE 3:
Routine referral to formal physical or occupational therapy after CTR by MSA in the United States in 2012.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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