RAND/UCLA Quality-of-Care Measures for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Tools for Assessing Quality of Care and Appropriateness of Surgery

Claims relating to carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) are common in workers' compensation systems. Given that the human and economic costs related to CTS are considerable, healthcare organizations must be able to offer high-quality care to people affected by this condition. The study on which this report is based is a step toward improving care for CTS. It has produced two unique tools for institutions to use, one for assessing the quality of care received by a population of patients who have or may have CTS, and the other for identifying the appropriateness of surgery for individual patients. Tools that assist in measuring quality of care are fundamental to efforts to improve healthcare quality. Tools that assess the appropriateness of surgery ensure that people who need surgery receive it and, conversely, that people are not subjected to inappropriate operations. Applied in this way, these two tools are likely to improve clinical circumstances and economic outcomes for people with CTS. Together, they can be useful to provider organizations, medical groups, medical certification boards, and other associated decisionmakers attempting to assess, monitor, and provide appropriate care for people with CTS.