eMeasure Title

Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma (POAG): Optic Nerve Evaluation

eMeasure Identifier (Measure Authoring Tool) 143 eMeasure Version number 6.0.000
NQF Number 0086 GUID db9d9f09-6b6a-4749-a8b2-8c1fdb018823
Measurement Period January 1, 20XX through December 31, 20XX
Measure Steward PCPI(R) Foundation (PCPI[R])
Measure Developer American Medical Association (AMA)
Measure Developer PCPI(R) Foundation (PCPI[R])
Endorsed By National Quality Forum
Description
Percentage of patients aged 18 years and older with a diagnosis of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) who have an optic nerve head evaluation during one or more office visits within 12 months
Copyright
Copyright 2017 PCPI(R) Foundation and American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer
The Measures are not clinical guidelines, do not establish a standard of medical care, and have not been tested for all potential applications. 

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CPT(R) contained in the Measure specifications is copyright 2004-2016 American Medical Association. LOINC(R) is copyright 2004-2016 Regenstrief Institute, Inc. This material contains SNOMED CLINICAL TERMS (SNOMED CT[R]) copyright 2004-2016 International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation. ICD-10 is copyright 2016 World Health Organization. All Rights Reserved.

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Measure Scoring Proportion
Measure Type Process
Stratification
None
Risk Adjustment
None
Rate Aggregation
None
Rationale
Changes in the optic nerve are one of two characteristics which currently define progression and thus worsening of glaucoma disease status (the other characteristic is visual field). There is a significant gap in documentation patterns of the optic nerve for both initial and follow-up care (Fremont, 2003), even among specialists (Lee, 2006). Examination of the optic nerve head and retinal nerve fiber layer provides valuable structural information about glaucomatous optic nerve damage. Visible structural alterations of the optic nerve head or retinal nerve fiber layer and development of peripapillary choroidal atrophy frequently occur before visual field defects can be detected. Careful study of the optic disc neural rim for small hemorrhages is important, since these hemorrhages can precede visual field loss and further optic nerve damage.

When initiating therapy, the clinician sets a target range of controlled IOP based on the pretreatment pressure and the presence of optic nerve damage. According to the AAO Glaucoma Preferred Practice Pattern, lowering the pretreatment IOP by 25% or more has been shown to inhibit progression of POAG to preserve visual function (AAO, 2010)
Clinical Recommendation Statement
Ophthalmic Evaluation
The ophthalmic evaluation specifically focuses on the following elements in the comprehensive adult medical eye evaluation:

Visual acuity measurement
Pupil examination
Anterior segment examination
Intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement
Gonioscopy
Optic nerve head (ONH) and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) examination
Fundus examination
(AAO, 2015)
Improvement Notation
Higher score indicates better quality
Reference
American Academy of Ophthalmology Glaucoma Panel. Preferred Practice Pattern Guidelines. Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma. San Francisco, CA: American Academy of Ophthalmology; 2015. Available at: www.aao.org/ppp
Reference
Fremont AM, et al. Patterns of Care for Open-angle Glaucoma in Managed Care. Arch Ophthalmol. 2003;121:777-783.
Reference
Lee PP, et al. A Multicenter, Retrospective Pilot Study of Resource Use and Costs Associated With Severity of Disease in Glaucoma. Arch Ophthalmol. 2006;124:12-19.
Definition
None
Guidance
Optic nerve head evaluation includes examination of the cup to disc ratio and identification of optic disc or retinal nerve abnormalities.  Both of these components of the optic nerve head evaluation are examined using ophthalmoscopy.

The measure, as written, does not specifically require documentation of laterality. Coding limitations in particular clinical terminologies do not currently allow for that level of specificity (ICD-10-CM includes laterality, but ICD-9-CM and SNOMED-CT do not uniformly include this distinction). Therefore, at this time, it is not a requirement of this measure to indicate laterality of the diagnoses, findings or procedures. Available coding to capture the data elements specified in this measure has been provided. It is assumed that the eligible professional or eligible clinician will record laterality in the patient medical record, as quality care and clinical documentation should include laterality.
Transmission Format
TBD
Initial Population
All patients aged 18 years and older with a diagnosis of primary open-angle glaucoma
Denominator
Equals Initial Population
Denominator Exclusions
None
Numerator
Patients who have an optic nerve head evaluation during one or more office visits within 12 months
Numerator Exclusions
Not Applicable
Denominator Exceptions
Documentation of medical reason(s) for not performing an optic nerve head evaluation
Supplemental Data Elements
For every patient evaluated by this measure also identify payer, race, ethnicity and sex

Table of Contents


Population Criteria

Data Criteria (QDM Variables)

Data Criteria (QDM Data Elements)

Supplemental Data Elements

Risk Adjustment Variables


Measure Set
None