MIPS Blog

The clock is ticking for clinicians and groups who want to report MIPS. MDinteractive can report all available registry and EHR MIPS Quality measures and is here to help, whether you have been collecting data throughout the year or are just getting started. In this article we explain how to choose your Quality measures, and the benefits of using a registry like MDinteractive. With the end of the 2020 performance year getting closer, there’s still time to choose measures to report and start gathering your data.

Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program may have different reporting requirements beginning in 2021. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is recommending key changes to the data that these organizations must report each year and how the data gets submitted in its proposed regulation for the Quality Payment Program (QPP). The changes are intended to reduce reporting burdens and improve patient outcomes. If adopted, the new provisions would allow ACOs to partner with CMS Qualified Registries like MDinteractive to meet their data reporting needs.

The MIPS Promoting Interoperability (PI) category, which replaced the Meaningful Use program, establishes requirements that promote the electronic exchange of information using certified electronic health record technology (CEHRT). 2015 Edition CEHRT is required to attest to the PI category. MIPS eligible clinicians and groups are scored on their performance on several PI measures. Making sense of all of the requirements can be challenging, so in this blog we will explain how to report PI and the potential impact on your final MIPS score.

If you have two or more clinicians billing with the same Tax Identification Number (TIN) in your practice, you should consider reporting MIPS as a group to gain some administrative relief and possibly increase your chances for success. According to CMS data, the majority of practices are choosing to report as a group. There are many reasons why group reporting is the preferred option for clinicians. Let’s take a look at what group reporting means, and why it may benefit your practice.

Improvement Activities (IA) is one of 4 categories under the MIPS program. This year many clinicians are choosing to attest to Improvement Activities, in addition to reporting another MIPS category, to ensure they reach the minimum threshold of 45 points to avoid any MIPS penalty. Attesting to IA is a simple process. In this article we provide an overview of the IA category and tips on how to identify activities most relevant to your practice.

We understand that keeping track of important dates for MIPS reporting can be a challenge, so we have prepared two lists of key dates to mark on your calendars for your 2020 and 2021 MIPS reporting.  Knowing what to do, and when, throughout the calendar year can save you a lot of headaches when it’s time to report and help you avoid paying any MIPS penalties.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Primary Care First (PCF) program is a new alternative payment model designed to support the delivery of advanced primary care. The program will begin in 2021 and will examine whether financial risk and performance based payments that reward primary care clinicians will lower Medicare costs and improve health care quality. PCF participants must annually report data on specific quality measures, including the quality measure Advance Care Plan which requires a Qualified Registry or QCDR vendor for reporting since it is not an EHR reportable measure. As a CMS Qualified Registry, MDinteractive can support practices participating in the program by reporting this measure on their behalf.

On August 4, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its proposed regulation for the Quality Payment Program (QPP) with recommended changes to the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and Alternative Payment Models (APMs) in 2021 and beyond. A final rule will be released later this fall after a public comment period. Here is a look at some key highlights of the proposed changes and how they could impact your practice.

Your 2019 MIPS performance feedback is now available, which includes your MIPS final scores and payment adjustment information.  You should carefully review your reporting results.  Any positive or negative payment adjustment will apply to your 2021 Medicare Part B payments for covered professional services. You have until 8pm EST on October 5, 2020 to request a targeted review if you believe an error was made in your 2021 MIPS payment adjustment calculation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many changes to our daily lives, including a surge in the use of telemedicine. During the past few months, more clinicians and their patients have been turning to telehealth appointments so patients can safely receive the care they need. In response, CMS announced many changes to support telehealth, including payments for Medicare telehealth services furnished to patients in broadened circumstances and an expanded list of clinicians who can provide these services. Clinicians offering telehealth services to their patients may want to consider how this is relevant to their MIPS reporting. In this article, we have identified a list of Quality measures and Improvement Activities that can be reported for telemedicine services.