Understanding the definition of “quality” of care in hand surgery is important to both patients and physicians. We founded the Hand Surgery Quality Consortium (HSQC) in 2013 with the mission of studying quality. We are a group of hand surgeons and quality measurement experts that aim to improve the care of patients with hand conditions through health services research and quality measure development.

Our research focuses on:

1)    Reviewing and evaluating existing quality measures

2)    Developing and testing new quality measures

3)    Understanding quality from the patient perspective

4)    Disseminating research on quality to hand surgeons

The HSQC meets bi-annually, at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons’ Annual Meeting and at the American Society for Surgery of the Hand’s Annual Meeting.

Examples of publications from the Consortium: 

Park MO, Eppler SL, Chatterjee M, Shapiro LM, Hand Surgery Quality Consortium, Kamal RN. Patient-Derived Framework for Quality in Hand Surgery: A Qualitative Analysis. J Hand Surg Am. 2022 Aug 11. 

Hand Surgery Quality Consortium. How Should We Use Patient-Reported Outcome Measures at the Point of Care in Hand Surgery? J Hand Surg Am. 2021 Dec.

Hand Surgery Quality Consortium. Quality Measures to Reduce Opioid Use After Common Soft Tissue Hand and Wrist Procedures. J Hand Surg Am. 2020 May 11

Hand Surgery Quality Consortium. Which Decisions for Management of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Distal Radius Fractures Should Be Shared? J Hand Surg Am. 2020 Apr 25.

Hand Surgery Quality Consortium. Candidate Quality Measures for Hand Surgery. J Hand Surg Am. J Hand Surg Am. 2017 Nov.

Hand Surgery Quality Consortium.  Quality Measures That Address the Upper Limb. J Hand Surg Am. 2016 Nov.

Kamal RN and the Hand Surgery Quality Consortium.  Quality Measurement: A Primer for Hand Surgeons. J Hand Surg Am. 2016 May.

Kamal RN, Ring D, Akelman E, Yao J, Ruch D, Richard M, Ladd A, Got C, Blazar P, and Kakar S (Hand Surgery Quality Consortium). Quality Measures in Upper Limb Surgery. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2016 Mar 16.