Screening for Osteoporosis for Women 65-85 Years of Age

This performance measure will likely result in meaningful and measurable improvements in clinical outcomes and aligns with United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations on screening for osteoporosis. While the PMC supports this performance measure, there are still some feasibility issues with implementation, particularly the denominator exclusion of osteoporosis diagnosis on the date of encounter. For Medicare reimbursement, physicians cannot order a bone mineral density test without prior documentation of osteoporosis. Many patients do not want to pay for a bone mineral density test out of pocket. Additionally, implementation could promote overuse of screening if patients receive care from multiple physicians and/or have poor record continuity, and in women who are at lower risk for osteoporosis based on reasonably identifiable factors (e.g., BMI, ethnicity). The PMC encourages the developers to revisit the exclusion of hospice and palliative care patients to ensure it is more feasible.