Application of a Standard Cross-Specialty Workup for Diagnosis and Metabolic Screening of Obese Adolescents With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Purpose: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common disorder. The used diagnostic criteria and screening for related metabolic disease in adolescent girls with PCOS vary with medical specialty, causing discrepancies in care. We sought to improve and standardize care to guidelines for adolescents with PCOS and obesity.

Methods: This is a quality improvement project in a multispecialty, tertiary care children's hospital. Providers in Adolescent Medicine, Gynecology, Pediatric Endocrinology, and Endocrine-Metabolic clinics participated. Diagnostic testing and metabolic screening data were collected for new patient encounters with PCOS and obesity, with two improvement cycles from December 2012 to March 2017. Providers received education on diagnostics tests and metabolic screening recommendations, and electronic medical record tools were created. The number of diagnostic and metabolic screening tests ordered per cycle and per clinic were analyzed and compared with baseline.

Results: The preintervention cycle included 74 encounters-44 in Cycle 1 and 58 in Cycle 2. Diagnostic test completeness improved by Cycle 2 (46%-68%) for all clinics. Screening for metabolic disease only improved in Gynecology (27%-71%). Adolescent Medicine, Endocrinology, and Endocrine-Metabolic used note templates, and Adolescent Medicine and Gynecology used order sets. Note templates were associated with more diagnostic tests ordered in Endocrinology (30%-88%; p = .002).

Conclusions: Implementation of quality improvement measures improved the number of diagnostic and metabolic screening tests performed in new patient encounters for PCOS, although the most effective strategy varied by clinic type and electronic medical record habits. Similar efforts should be implemented to standardize care at other institutions.