Clinical Data RegistryMeaningful UseMerit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)
November 3, 2015

Making the Most of Meaningful Use: How the “Specialized Registry” Can Secure Your Future in MIPS

Good health care requires insight. That’s the message under Medicare’s new Medicare Meaningful Use rules for 2015 through 2017, giving providers the option to use a Specialized Registry to meet the Public Health Reporting Objective. The new rule also lays out how a Clinical Data Registry (CDR) will fit into this and other MU objectives in the future. Both the Specialized Registry and the CDR reflect a significant opportunity. Why? Because as these Registries collect, analyze and show data from providers who will need to report in order to be in compliance with Medicare, there will be a lot of…
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ACO ReportingAlternative Payment Models (APM)Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)Performance Improvement
October 20, 2015

Break the Barriers to ACO Shared Savings

The ACO performance results for 2014 are in, and they are troubling. While most ACOs were able to fulfill quality reporting requirements, only some reduced costs enough to qualify for shared savings. Many ACOs did cut costs—of the 353 ACOs, there were $411 million in total savings. But for most ACOs, it was not enough. How can ACOs break through the barrier to shared savings in the near future? Here are four lessons from analyzing the CMS data: The goal of Medicare’s performance-based reimbursement is to save money and improve outcomes, as illustrated by both the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System…
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Alternative Payment Models (APM)Future of Health CareValue-Based Payment Modifier
October 6, 2015

Be Prepared for Medicare’s Transition to Bundled Payments—or Risk Future Revenues

As specialists face increasing pressure to lower costs, particularly by Medicare, so-called Bundled Payments are becoming an increasingly significant—and preferred—method of reimbursement. Although this form of Alternative Payment Method (APM) is not yet mandatory, most industry experts believe that bundled payments will form the basis of how Medicare will pay specialty services in the future, especially regarding inpatient care. Develop your strategy now, or you risk economic fallout. From a fledgling pilot initiative, Medicare’s Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Initiative (BCPI) has grown to 2,100 provider groups with initiatives in one or more of 48 unique procedure or diagnosis “bundles.”…
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Future of Health CareMerit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)Performance ImprovementPQRS ReportingQualified Clinical Data Registry ReportingValue-Based Payment Modifier
September 22, 2015

Medicare’s MIPS: The Not-So New Face of Value-Based Care

Rumors that PQRS and VBPM have died may be wishful thinking, but are far from true. Value-Based Care is here to stay, even as Medicare’s programs evolve. You still have a chance to help shape those initiatives before they become law. So it’s well worth your time now to learn all about Medicare’s newest program, MIPS. In 2019, Medicare will phase in the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). The 2016 reporting year will form the basis for the final Value-Based Payment Modifier (VBPM) and PQRS payment adjustments, to be applied in 2018, with MIPS to begin the following year. But…
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Alternative Payment Models (APM)AttributionMerit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)Qualified Clinical Data Registry ReportingValue-Based Payment Modifier
September 1, 2015

Mastering MSPB: How “Episode” Care Calculations Make or Break Your Revenues

The whole may be greater than the sum of its parts—but how those parts each contribute to the whole is key to a new Medicare calculation of episode costs. If you aren’t paying attention to the total cost of an entire “episode” of care for your patients—including that rendered by others—your future revenues may take a hit. Enter Medicare Spending Per Beneficiary (MSPB), a component of CMS’s Value-Based Payment Modifier (VBPM) calculations that is crucial to your bottom line. MSPB is a measure of charges per episode of care that looks at costs immediately prior to, during and following a hospital…
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