Rand Researchers Assess Quality of Carpal Tunnel Treatment

A new study from researchers at the Rand Corp. found that for the most part, occupational medicine doctors with Kaiser Permanente Northern California adhered to quality standards for treating carpal tunnel syndrome in a group of 477 injured workers. Carpal tunnel patients were not given opioids 94.8% of the time; steroid injections were limited to four in 98.5% of cases; and electrodiagnostic tests were performed before 98% of surgeries to treat CTS. But steps were taken to minimize the worker’s exposure to vibration, force and repetition in only two-thirds of cases. And while occ...