Changing patterns of use of implantable cardiac monitors from 2011 to 2018 for a large commercially-insured US population

Implantable cardiac monitors (ICMs) provide long-term electrocardiographic monitoring for a number of indications. However, frequencies of use by indication and temporal changes have not been characterized on a national scale. We sought to characterize overall use and changes between 2011 and 2018. We used generalized linear models to characterize the incidence rate per 1,000,000 patient-quarters at risk and an autoregressive integrated moving average model to account for autocorrelation in this time series data. We studied commercially-insured patients and their insured dependents in the IBM MarketScan Commercial Database who had an ICM placed. We described the characteristics of individuals who received ICMs and the frequency of placements into 3 guideline concordance groups. We estimated the mean change per quarter in ICM placements (mean quarterly change in incidence rate per 1,000,000 patient-quarters at risk) for quarter (Q)1 2011 through Q1 2014, Q1 2014 to Q2 2014, and Q2 2014 through Q4 2018 for each guideline concordance group. The most common indications for categorizable ICM placement were syncope (24%), atrial fibrillation (11%), and stroke (11%). For each of the 3 guideline concordance groups except guideline unaddressed inpatient ICM placements, there was a significant increase in use either during the Q1 2014 to Q2 2014 or the Q2 2014 through Q4 2018 periods. A significant portion of ICM placements were for indications that lack strong evidence, such as established atrial fibrillation. The incidence of ICM placement for most of the indications and settings increased after miniaturization and technical improvements.