Alternative Payment Models (APM)Meaningful UseMerit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)PQRS ReportingQualified Clinical Data Registry ReportingValue Modifier
February 28, 2017

How to Turn 2016 PQRS Success into Better Care (and a MIPS Win)

March has arrived. The submission window for PQRS shuts on March 31. It’s the moment of truth for providers, practices and Registries. Are you ready to report, ready to panic or somewhere in-between? It’s probably too late to implement an initiative designed to improve your PQRS measures, but with the right Registry partner, there is still a path to 2016 PQRS success, even if you aren’t “PQRS Ready.” More importantly, if you follow these three steps, you’ll also create a pathway to success in the Quality Payment Program (either through MIPS or an APM)—both by avoiding penalties, as well as…
Read More
Future of Health CareMACRAMeaningful UsePerformance ImprovementPQRS ReportingQualified Clinical Data Registry ReportingValue ModifierValue-Based Health Care
September 13, 2016

CMS Okays MACRA Flexibility: Standstill or Startup for Providers?

With the CMS announcement last week that the final MACRA Rules will let providers pick and choose activities—or even delay requirements—2017 implementation is now a toss-up. Will providers double down on efforts to meet the MACRA standards in 2018? Or, will eased deadline pressure reverse momentum within health care systems? There are many valid reasons why the lead-time decision is important. MACRA represents one of the biggest overhauls of the Medicare reimbursement program, and many of the elements have not been fleshed out. Releasing final rules one month in advance of their going into effect surely makes it difficult for…
Read More
Alternative Payment Models (APM)MACRAMeaningful UseMerit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)Performance ImprovementPQRS ReportingQualified Clinical Data Registry ReportingValue ModifierValue-Based Health CareValue-Based Payment Modifier
July 26, 2016

Closing the Book on PQRS (and Opening the MACRA Sequel)

Did you receive your confirmation email from the Physician Value Help Desk that your TIN was successfully registered for Group Practice reporting? If you did, which method did you select? Whether Registry, QCDR, EHR-Direct or the CMS Web Interface, you are officially locked into that choice, and it’s too late to back out. If you didn’t register, and are not in an ACO or another program that excuses you from PQRS (beware—this does NOT include Meaningful Use!), you’re still on the hook for PQRS and are locked into reporting at an individual level. Now that the registration deadline has passed,…
Read More
Alternative Payment Models (APM)Clinical Data RegistryMACRAMeaningful UseMerit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)PQRS ReportingQualified Clinical Data Registry ReportingValue ModifierValue-Based Health Care
June 28, 2016

What’s the Score? Decoding the MIPS Scoring Methodology

CMS is calling MIPS the “First Step to a Fresh Start.” When it comes to scoring, that’s an understatement. Although MIPS’s foundations are rooted in existing programs, the MIPS algorithm is a significant departure from today’s quality, cost and health information technology scoring. Not only new, this scoring methodology is complex. Providers will receive one aggregated MIPS Composite Performance Score (CPS), but remember—this one score is going to account for three existing programs, plus a component for ongoing improvement. The real first step: learn how the scoring is done. With penalties starting at 4 percent the first year, growing to…
Read More
Alternative Payment Models (APM)MACRAMeaningful UseMerit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)PQRS ReportingQualified Clinical Data Registry ReportingValue ModifierValue-Based Health CareValue-Based Payment Modifier
June 21, 2016

MACRA Medicare: Customize MIPS Strategy to Your Practice’s Attributes

Under MACRA Medicare’s Proposed Rules, CMS anticipates that as many as 90 percent of providers will be part of MIPS’s first year, beginning January 1, 2017. That includes providers in ACOs that don’t bear enough risk for exemption, providers who reported PQRS and Meaningful Use, as well as those who did nothing, “waiting out” Medicare’s plans. Not only is the wait over, but only about half a year remains until MIPS begins. And the challenges won’t fall evenly across provider groups. Size, specialty and support will weigh heavily into MIPS success. A customized MIPS strategy is your key to avoiding the…
Read More
ACO ReportingAlternative Payment Models (APM)Future of Health CareMACRAMeaningful UseMerit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)Population HealthPQRS ReportingQualified Clinical Data Registry ReportingValue ModifierValue-Based Health Care
June 7, 2016

Proposed MACRA Rules: Your APM Strategy for Risk Readiness

If you chose not to participate in Medicare ACOs or Bundled Payments in recent years, CMS is planning to change your mind. Proposed MACRA Rules reveal a complex carrot-and-stick approach to inducing providers into risk models. Make no mistake: it’s just a matter of when, not if, you participate in one of the Alternative Payment Models (APMs). It will pay (literally) to begin planning your path to risk now. Here are five important provisions in the Proposed Rules that you need to understand: Full qualification as an Advanced APM earns a 5 percent lump sum bonus, exemption from participation in…
Read More
Clinical Data RegistryFuture of Health CareMeaningful UseMerit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)Qualified Clinical Data Registry ReportingSpecialized RegistryValue-Based Health Care
March 29, 2016

Public Health Reporting Under Meaningful Use: Delayed—or Dead?

Of all the requirements in the EHR Incentive Program, the Modified Stage 2 provisions for public health reporting were among the most controversial when finalized—and remain the most muddled. Amended by a series of CMS FAQs since Final Rules, the 2016 requirements have been significantly eased. Providers now question whether Specialized Registry reporting will become a reality, and some have put off active engagement with Registries until CMS clarifies its direction. What should your path be, and how secure is your exclusion from reporting? Public Health Reporting: Who Is “Public Health”? Public health reporting under Meaningful Use falls into three…
Read More
ACO ReportingAlternative Payment Models (APM)Clinical Data RegistryMeaningful UseMerit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)Performance ImprovementValue-Based Health Care
March 22, 2016

Ready for Risk? How to Foster Physician Alignment with Your Health System’s APMs

We’ve seen unprecedented consolidation among hospitals, hospital systems and physician groups in recent years, sparked by the drive for greater market share. As systems organize competitively to participate in risk models such as ACOs and bundled payments, however, the dramatic surge in hospital employment of physicians hasn’t helped ACO success. In fact, most Medicare ACOs have not met cost targets needed to generate revenue. All too often, hospitals or health systems and their physicians clash over goals, expectations, outcomes and basic communication regarding Alternate Payment Models (APMs). As a Registry helping large systems take steps toward clinical integration, ACOs and performance…
Read More
ACO ReportingClinical Data RegistryMeaningful UseQualified Clinical Data Registry ReportingSpecialized RegistryValue-Based Health Care
February 15, 2016

ICLOPS Specialized Registry Now Open: Don’t Miss 2-29 Deadline for Active Engagement in 2016 MU Public Health Reporting

Attention, Eligible Providers and Hospitals looking for a Specialized Registry to meet public health reporting requirements in Modified Stage 2 of Meaningful Use: ICLOPS is open for business. ICLOPS Specialized Registry services will support both Eligible Providers, regardless of specialty, and Eligible Hospitals, plus all eCQMs. Since CMS finalized the modifications to the Meaningful Use program in October 2015, providers have been scrambling to find information on public health reporting options. While some providers are already connected to their specialty registries or to state and local immunization registries, many Eligible Providers have been without options for meeting this requirement. There is…
Read More
ACO ReportingAlternative Payment Models (APM)Clinical Data RegistryFuture of Health CareMeaningful UseMerit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)Performance ImprovementRegistry ScienceResearchValue-Based Health Care
February 2, 2016

All Together, Now: Why Specialists Need the CDR Edge for Bundled Payments

With the advent of Bundled Payments for selected procedures and conditions, providers and institutions must collaborate to meet both cost and quality targets. No longer will each provider bill and receive payment separately for services when these bundles become mandatory—as most experts believe will happen. All providers participating in a set “bundled” price must focus on coordinated performance improvement or face penalties. Key to that effort: a Clinical Data Registry (CDR) that tracks patient outcome data over time and pinpoints success or failure of interventions. CDR Performance Improvement Tools Are Essential for Bundled Payments Success The CDR fulfills two fundamental…
Read More