eCQM Title

Diabetes: Eye Exam

eCQM Identifier (Measure Authoring Tool) 131 eCQM Version number 7.2.000
NQF Number 0055 GUID d90bdab4-b9d2-4329-9993-5c34e2c0dc66
Measurement Period January 1, 20XX through December 31, 20XX
Measure Steward National Committee for Quality Assurance
Measure Developer National Committee for Quality Assurance
Endorsed By National Quality Forum
Description
Percentage of patients 18-75 years of age with diabetes who had a retinal or dilated eye exam by an eye care professional during the measurement period or a negative retinal exam (no evidence of retinopathy) in the 12 months prior to the measurement period
Copyright
This Physician Performance Measure (Measure) and related data specifications were developed by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). NCQA is not responsible for any use of the Measure. NCQA makes no representations, warranties, or endorsement about the quality of any organization or physician that uses or reports performance measures and NCQA has no liability to anyone who relies on such measures or specifications. NCQA holds a copyright in the Measure. The Measure can be reproduced and distributed, without modification, for noncommercial purposes (eg, use by healthcare providers in connection with their practices) without obtaining approval from NCQA. Commercial use is defined as the sale, licensing, or distribution of the Measure for commercial gain, or incorporation of the Measure into a product or service that is sold, licensed or distributed for commercial gain. All commercial uses or requests for modification must be approved by NCQA and are subject to a license at the discretion of NCQA. (C) 2012-2017 National Committee for Quality Assurance. All Rights Reserved. 

Limited proprietary coding is contained in the Measure specifications for user convenience. Users of proprietary code sets should obtain all necessary licenses from the owners of the code sets. NCQA disclaims all liability for use or accuracy of any third party codes contained in the specifications.

CPT(R) contained in the Measure specifications is copyright 2004-2017 American Medical Association. LOINC(R) copyright 2004-2017 Regenstrief Institute, Inc. This material contains SNOMED Clinical Terms(R) (SNOMED CT[R] ) copyright 2004-2017 International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation. ICD-10 copyright 2017 World Health Organization. All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer
The performance Measure is not a clinical guideline and does not establish a standard of medical care, and has not been tested for all potential applications. THE MEASURE AND SPECIFICATIONS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.
 
Due to technical limitations, registered trademarks are indicated by (R) or [R] and unregistered trademarks are indicated by (TM) or [TM].
Measure Scoring Proportion
Measure Type Process
Stratification
None
Risk Adjustment
None
Rate Aggregation
None
Rationale
As the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S., diabetes kills approximately 79,500 people a year (CDC Health 2017). Diabetes is a long lasting disease marked by high blood glucose levels, resulting from the body's inability to produce or use insulin properly (CDC About Diabetes 2017). People with diabetes are at increased risk of serious health complications including vision loss, heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, amputation of toes, feet or legs, and premature death. (At a Glance 2016). 

In 2012, diabetes cost the U.S. an estimated $245 billion: $176 billion in direct medical costs and $69 billion in reduced productivity. This is a 41 percent increase from the estimated $174 billion spent on diabetes in 2007 (ADA Economic 2013).  

Diabetic retinopathy is progressive damage to the small blood vessels in the retina that may result in loss of vision. It is the leading cause of blindness in adults between 20-74 years of age. Approximately 4.1 million adults are affected by diabetic retinopathy (CDC Common Eye Disorders 2015).
Clinical Recommendation Statement
American Diabetes Association (ADA) (2017): 

- Adults with type 1 diabetes should have an initial dilated and comprehensive eye examination by an ophthalmologist or optometrist within 5 years after the onset of diabetes. (Level of evidence: B)

- Patients with type 2 diabetes should have an initial dilated and comprehensive eye examination by an ophthalmologist or optometrist at the time of the diabetes diagnosis. (Level of evidence: B)
Improvement Notation
Higher score indicates better quality
Reference
American Diabetes Association. Microvascular complications and foot care. Sec. 10. In Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes 2017. Diabetes Care 2017;40(Suppl. 1):S88-S98
Reference
American Diabetes Association (ADA). April 2013. Economic Costs of Diabetes in the U.S. in 2012. Diabetes Care. Vol. 36 no. 4 1033-46. http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/36/4/1033.full
Reference
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 2017.Health, United States, 2016: With Chartbook on Long-term Trends in Health. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus16.pdf#019
Reference
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 2015. Common Eye Disorders, Diabetic Retinopathy. https://www.cdc.gov/visionhealth/basics/ced/index.html.
Reference
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 2017. About Diabetes. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/diabetes.html.
Reference
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 2016. At a Glance 2016, Diabetes Working to Reverse the US Epidemic. https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/aag/pdf/2016/diabetes-aag.pdf. 
Definition
None
Guidance
Only patients with a diagnosis of Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes should be included in the denominator of this measure; patients with a diagnosis of secondary diabetes due to another condition should not be included.

The eye exam must be performed by an ophthalmologist or optometrist.
Transmission Format
TBD
Initial Population
Patients 18-75 years of age with diabetes with a visit during the measurement period
Denominator
Equals Initial Population
Denominator Exclusions
Exclude patients whose hospice care overlaps the measurement period
Numerator
Patients with an eye screening for diabetic retinal disease. This includes diabetics who had one of the following:
A retinal or dilated eye exam by an eye care professional in the measurement period or a negative retinal exam (no evidence of retinopathy) by an eye care professional in the year prior to the measurement period
Numerator Exclusions
Not Applicable
Denominator Exceptions
None
Supplemental Data Elements
For every patient evaluated by this measure also identify payer, race, ethnicity and sex

Table of Contents


Population Criteria

Definitions

Functions

Terminology

Data Criteria (QDM Data Elements)

Supplemental Data Elements

Risk Adjustment Variables


Measure Set
None