Close More Osteoporosis Gaps in Care with In-Home Bone Density Scans During National Osteoporosis Awareness & Prevention Month this May

While osteoporosis affects millions of women every year, it often goes undiagnosed until a fracture occurs. Ensuring timely bone density scans targeting the HEDIS measure for Osteoporosis Management in Women Who Hada Fracture (OMW) remains critical to improving health outcomes through early disease detection.

This measure assesses women aged 67-85 who suffered a fracture and received osteoporosis care management through either a bone mineral density (BMD) test or were prescribed osteoporosis medication within six months of their fracture date.¹

Despite the relatively straightforward criteria, the OMW measure remains one of the more challenging gaps in care to close for many health plans. In 2023, the national average for Medicare HMO plans on OMW performance was just 43.3%, with Medicare PPO plans falling further behind at 37.8%.² Improving performance on this measure will require health plans of all types and sizes to implement effective screening protocols to ensure the risk of future osteoporosis-related fractures is significantly reduced.

Impact of Osteoporosis on Quality of Life & Cost of Care

While half of all American adults aged 50 and older are at risk of a bone break, unfortunately a woman's risk of fracture is equal to her combined risk of breast, uterine, and ovarian cancer.³ The impact on quality of life can be significant, with the majority of those who experience hip fractures requiring surgery and only 50% being able to walk unaided post-surgery. What’s worse, nearly 25% of those over 50 years of age who’ve suffered a hip fracture die the following year and 40% of survivors never regain the full mobility they once had pre-fracture.⁴

According to the Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation, the financial impact of osteoporotic fractures on the U.S. healthcare system and patients is staggering, with osteoporosis-related bone breaks costing an estimated $19billion annually.⁵ These fractures account for over 40% of hospitalizations among post-menopausal women, with hospital costs for osteoporotic fractures totaling roughly $5.1 billion every year.⁶

Closing the Gap: Targeting the HEDIS Measure for OMW

In order to address these critical gaps in osteoporosis care, health plans must prioritize implementing strategies that are not only effective but also convenient for their members. One key aspect of HEDIS measure performance for Osteoporosis Management in Women Who Had a Fracture(OMW) includes scheduling follow-up care. This measure assesses women 67-85years of age who suffered a fracture, with all applicable members within that population needing to undergo a bone density test within six months of their fracture date.

Given the limited number of members within that denominator in combination with a narrow screening window, ensuring that as many eligible members as possible close the OMW gap can significantly improve HEDIS scores. While this may seem challenging, any missed opportunities within this designated timeframe can negatively impact a health plan's Star Ratings performance. With appropriate screening and treatment planning, the risk of future osteoporosis-related fractures can be effectively reduced.

To drive increased OMW compliance rates, top performing health plans are implementing bone health workflows within their associated provider networks, care management programs, and member engagement strategies across multiple channels.

• Fracture Alerts & Registries: Flag patients & health plan members with new fractures for timely follow-up action using the appropriate internal channels available to them within their existing case management systems.
• Health Plan & Provider Education: Health plans should encourage their members' known primary care providers to order bone mineral density tests where applicable or prescribe treatment plans during annual wellness visits with their patients.
• Member Engagement Strategies: Effective use of multi-channel member engagement strategies through mail, email, SMS/Text, and telephonic outreach can help encourage women to schedule bone density scans within six months of their fracture date.

In-Home Bone Density Scans: Convenience Within Reach

Retina Labs offers a proven solution for closing the HEDIS measure targeting Osteoporosis Management in Women Who Had a Fracture (OMW) by bringing bone density scans directly to the homes of your members. Our comprehensive approach to in-home care provides health plans with the resources necessary to drive increased compliance rates while simultaneously boosting Star Ratings.

Focusing on improving health outcomes through early disease detection using convenient in-home screening solutions for OMW can reduce the long-term care costs often associated with osteoporotic fractures. For women who have recently experienced a fracture and face mobility or transportation challenges, in-home follow-up care emerges as one of the most practical and effective solutions available.

By meeting your members where they are most comfortable and familiar with, we remove one of the greatest barriers to delivering preventive care -enabling health plans to improve adherence rates, member satisfaction, and quality scores.

Preventive screening program features for our in-home bone density scans include:

• Member outreach & scheduling
• In-home visits completed by our highly trained Field Technologists
• Non-invasive bone densitometer tech suitable for high BMI members
• Graphical T-Score measurement report generated within minutes
• Test results seamlessly communicated to both members and their PCPs

Visit the link below to learn more about our in-home bone density scan program features:

Retina Labs – In-Home Bone Density Exams Brochure (PDF)

Quality Improvement Starts with Coordination

Improving adherence rates for the OMW measure is more than just another HEDIS checkbox item– it presents a meaningful opportunity to reduce disease progression while improving long-term health outcomes for any health plan’s member population of older women. With OMW contributing to Medicare Star Ratings and value-based contracting benchmarks, the financial incentives for improvement continue to be just as strong as those centered around clinical quality.

Don't let preventable osteoporotic fractures become another missed metric for quality improvement purposes. Use this time during National Osteoporosis Awareness& Prevention Month to prioritize bone health by deploying strategies that connect post-fracture members with the convenient diagnostic testing tools needed to ensure positive health outcomes.

Need to Examine Your OMW Star Ratings?

We’re here to help! Contact us today to learn more about our comprehensive approach to providing in-home bone density exams directly to your health plan members – all from the comfort of their own homes.

Osteoporosis Gaps in Care Review

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References/Sources:

1. Osteoporosis Management In Women Who Had a Fracture (OMW) | NCQA‍
2. Osteoporosis Management In Women Who Had a Fracture (OMW) | NCQA
3. Osteoporosis Awareness & Prevention | Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation
4. Burden of Osteoporosis | International Osteoporosis Foundation
5. Osteoporosis Fast Facts | Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation
6. Burden of Illness for Osteoporotic Fractures Among Postmenopausal Women | Mayo Clinic