IN THIS ISSUE Calculating MIPS Scores and Payment Adjustments Preparing for MIPS in the Small Group Practice: Q&A Spotlight on Advancing Care Information MIPS Improvement Activities National Recovery Month SURS Spotlights This newsletter is produced by IMPAQ International who is functioning as the QPP SURS Central Support contractor. Questions or suggestions about the newsletter can be sent to [email protected]. SEPTEMBER 2017 Calculating MIPS Scores and Payment Adjustments Clinicians parcipang in the Merit-based Incenve Payment System (MIPS) path of the Quality Payment Program should submit data from the 2017 performance period by March 31, 2018. As depicted in the visual below for the “Test” opon, subming data on even one quality measure or improvement acvity will ensure that eligible clinicians do not receive a negave 4% adjustment to their Medicare payments. The Details – There are four performance categories that can influence a clinician’s MIPS score and ulmately their payment adjustment. Note that clinicians can avoid the negave payment adjustment by subming only one measure for either the quality category or improvement acvies category. 1. Quality (60% of MIPS final score): Clinicians that choose the Test opon can submit only one measure in this category (with no measures in any of the other categories), while clinicians that choose to submit Paral Year and Full Year data need to submit six measures. 2. Advancing Care Informaon (25% of MIPS final score): Clinicians that choose the Test opon can submit four or five base score measures in this category depending on their edion of CEHRT (with no measures in any of the other categories), while clinicians that choose to submit Paral Year and Full Year data need to submit performance score or bonus score measures in addion to the base score. 3. Improvement Acvies (15% of MIPS final score): Clinicians that choose the Test opon can aest to only one improvement acvity (with no measures in any of the other categories), while clinicians that choose to submit Paral Year and Full Year data need to aest to either two high-weighted acvies, one high and two medium- weighted acvies, or four medium-weighted acvies. Possessing a special consideraon for being a small pracce doubles the points behind the acvity. 4. Cost: Not required for 2017. Connued on Page 2
6
Embed
Calculating MIPS Scores and Payment Adjustments IN · PDF fileCalculating MIPS Scores and Payment Adjustments ... linicians participating in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
In June 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and IMPAQ International hosted two webinars to help small practices – with a special focus on those in rural and underserved areas – start the process of preparing to actively participate in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). Below we highlight a few frequently asked questions:
Q: If several physicians are filed under the same tax ID, do they report as a group or separately? A: You can participate in MIPS as either an individual or as part of a practice in which everyone bills under a single Tax Identification Number (TIN). Just because you are a part of a practice that has multiple clinicians included in MIPS, it does not mean that you have to participate as a group; it is an option available to you. However, you must participate as an individual or as a group for all of the MIPS performance categories; you cannot submit as an individual for one MIPS performance category and at the group level for others. The options to participate as an individual or as a group are discussed in the following slide deck beginning on slide 16. https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/Value-Based-Programs/MACRA-MIPS-and-APMs/QPP-Participation-Criteria-Webinar-Slides.pdf Q: What platforms are available to report measures to MIPS? A: For individuals, you can submit data for the Quality performance category through a Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR), Qualified Registry, Electronic Health Record, or Claims. Groups have similar options in the QCDR, Qualified Registry, and Electronic Health Record. Groups may also report via Administrative Claims1, CMS Web Interface (for groups of 25 or more), and Administer the CAHPS for MIPS Survey (this must be
reported with another submission method), but registration for the CMS Web Interface and CAHPS for MIPS Survey is now closed for the 2017 performance period. More information is available at: https://qpp.cms.gov/learn/getprepared. Q: What are the relevant deadlines? A: The first performance period began January 1, 2017 and ends December 31, 2017. If you did not start collecting performance data on January 1, you can choose to begin anytime between January 1 and October 2 (October 2, 2017 is the last day to begin par-tial year reporting). Data submission for 2017 is due no later than March 31 2018. The submission window will open on January 1, 2018, and CMS encourages you to submit your data as early as possible to ensure that it has been received. If you are using third-party vendors for data submission they may have earlier deadlines. The first payment adjustments will go into effect January 1, 2019. More information on deadlines is included in: https://qpp.cms.gov/docs/Quality_Payment_Program_Overview_Fact_Sheet.pdf and https://qpp.cms.gov/docs/QPP_Quick_Start_Guide_to_MIPS.pdf.
1There is only one Quality measure that is an administrative claims measure -
the All-Cause Hospital Readmission Measure. This is applicable to groups of 16 or more clinicians with 200 attributed patients. If the group does not have 200 attributed patients, then they will not be scored on the measure. Therefore, it is not necessarily a data submission option.
Calculating MIPS Scores and Payment Adjustments (cont’d. from pg. 1)
Payment Adjustment – Small practices should reach out to their regional Direct Support Organization for specific
guidance on estimating their payment adjustment. To find the organization name and contact information for each
region, visit this website: https://qpp.cms.gov/about/small-underserved-rural-practices. There are also several tools
available to help estimate payment adjustments. See one such estimator here: https://www.stratishealth.org/providers/
data/MIPS-Estimator/.
Preparing for MIPS in the Small Group Practice: Questions and Answers
The graph below displays the average predicted percentage score among SURS clinicians who participated in the 2016 EHR Incentive Program for each of the performance score measures.
Continued on Page 5
5 QPP SURS NEWSLETTER | SEPTEMBER 2017
Spotlight on Advancing Care Information (cont’d.
from pg. 4)
The graph below displays the predicted ACI scores (sum of base score, performance score, and bonus
score) among SURS clinicians. Based on the EHR Incentive Program data, approximately one-quarter
of SURS clinicians are projected to achieve at least 20.25 points in the ACI performance category while
three-quarters are projected to achieve less than 15 points.
M
NT ACTIVITIE Note 1: Predicted ACI score does not include View, Download or Transmit (VDT) Measure (10%) and Reporting Improvement Activities
using CEHRT (10%).
Note 2: Percentage of SURS clinicians do not sum to 100% due to rounding.
14% of clinicians are projected to receive the full 25 points for the
Advancing Care Information Performance Category
SURS Spotlights: Resources from Altarum and HealthInsight The QPP SURS Direct Support Organizations have been developing and leveraging useful resources to help small
practices transition to the Quality Payment Program. This month’s newsletter features resources from Altarum and
HealthInsight:
1. Altarum’s Quality Payment Program Resource Center™ for the Midwest recently developed six educational
videos that include an overview of the Quality Payment Program, as well as a closer look at the four MIPS
Performance Categories and Alternative Payment Models. These videos can be found at https://
www.youtube.com/channel/UCPipfu41XGGV3Layj-QDUIQ.
2. HealthInsight has developed a nine-step guide to reporting in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), which the Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement has used to educate and transition its eligible clinicians into MIPS. This resource can be found at http://healthinsight.org/files/Quality%20Payment%20Program/Understanding%20the%20Quality%20Payment%20Program/MIPS%209%20steps%206-9-17.pdf.
In September of every year, the United States Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) celebrates Recovery Month to raise
awareness about mental health and substance use disorders, and to show that
prevention works, treatment is effective, and people recover. This year’s Recov-
ery Month campaign is titled: “Join the Voices for Recovery: Strengthen Families and Communities.” Providers can use
Recovery Month logos, banner, flyers, posters and activity guides to spread this message of hope and to engage their
staff, patients, families, and communities.
Make Recovery Month Count
The Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) rewards providers for a wide range of activities that support the goals
of Recovery Month. For example, the following activities can all be conducted as part of an annual visit:
Spread the word and share these Recovery Month resources:
Visit SAMHSA’s Recovery Month website Access the Recovery Month toolkit
Access Recovery Month logos, banners, posters and flyers
What Clinicians Can Do Corresponding MIPS Measures
Use the PHQ-9 Tool to screen patients for major depressive disorder (MDD)
Quality Measure 371: Depression Utilization of the PHQ-9 Tool
Description: Patients age 18 and older with the diagnosis of major depression or dysthymia who have a Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) tool administered at least once during a 4-month period in which there was a qualifying visit
Assess suicide risk for patients who screen positive for MDD Quality Measure 107: Adult Major Depressive Disorder (MDD):
Suicide Risk Assessment
Description: Percentage of patients aged 18 years and older with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD) with a suicide risk assessment completed during the visit in which a new diagnosis or recurrent episode was identified
Communicate with providers treating their patients with MDD for co-occurring conditions
Quality Measure 325: Adult Major Depressive Disorder (MDD):
Coordination of Care of Patients with Specific Comorbid Conditions
Description: Percentage of medical records of patients aged 18 years and older with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD) and a specific diagnosed comorbid condition (diabetes, coronary artery disease, ischemic stroke, intracranial hemorrhage, chronic kidney disease [stages 4 or 5], End Stage Renal Disease [ESRD] or congestive heart failure) being treated by another clinician with communication to the clinician treating the comorbid condition
MIPS Improvement Activities: Connection to Quality Measures and Documentation for Audits
As small practices are actively participating or preparing to participate in MIPS for the 2017
transition year, they may be interested in exploring two key concepts in the improvement
activities category:
1. Selecting improvement activities that are connected to their quality measures, as this helps to
ensure practices stay focused on improving their top priority processes and outcomes; and
2. Maintain the level of documentation outlined in the data and validation package to support
attestation for their selected improvement activities in the event of an audit.