HEDIS measure for the management of menopause

The Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS) 2000 Management o f Menopause measure is designed to evaluate a health plan's provision of co unseling to women 47 to 55 years of age (during the past 2 years or ever) o n the hormonal and resultant changes that occur during perimenopause and po stmenopause. The Management of Menopause measure assesses 3 components of t hat counseling: exposure to counseling (whether and when it occurred), brea dth of counseling (whether information on risks, benefits, and alternatives to hormone replacement therapy were discussed), and personalization of cou nseling (whether a woman's personal and family medical histories and her ow n concerns were taken into consideration). The measure does not assess eith er the decision-making process or the decision made. In the measure, counseling refers to communication of information to a woma n to assist her in making informed decisions about her health. This is not limited to face-to-face encounters but includes all the information a woman receives from her clinician or health plan. Such counseling should include an overview of all changes that call be anticipated during the menopause, with a focus on what a woman can do to manage these changes. The focus may initially be on-the short-term symptoms that may bring a woman to the physi cian's office, such as hot flushes, sleep disturbances, irregular menses, o r mood disturbances. Steps that can be taken to prevent or delay diseases a ssociated with long-term estrogen deprivation, such as cardiovascular disea se, osteoporosis, colon cancer, and Alzheimer's disease, may be a second fo cus of discussion. Finally, a discussion of lifestyle modifications should not he overlooked.