2020 MIPS IA_EPA_1: Provide 24/7 Access to MIPS Eligible Clinicians or Groups Who Have Real-Time Access to Patient's Medical Record

Activity ID

Activity Weighting

Subcategory Name

Expanded Practice Access

Activity Description

Provide 24/7 access to MIPS eligible clinicians,  groups, or care teams for advice about urgent and emergent care (For example, eligible clinician and care team access to medical record, cross-coverage with access to medical record, or protocol-driven nurse line with access to medical record) that could include one or more of the following:

• Expanded hours in evenings and weekends with access to the patient medical record (For example, coordinate with small practices to provide alternate hour office visits and urgent care);
• Use of alternatives to increase access to care team by MIPS eligible clinicians and  groups, such as  telehealth, phone visits, group visits, home visits and alternate locations (For example, senior centers and assisted living centers); and/or
• Provision of same-day or next-day access to a consistent MIPS eligible clinician, group or care team when needed for urgent care or transition management.

Validation

Demonstration of patient care provided outside of normal business hours through 24/7 or expanded practice hours with access to medical records or ability to increase access through alternative access methods or same-day or next-day visits

Suggested Documentation

1) Patient Record from EHR - A patient record from an EHR with date and timestamp indicating services provided outside of normal business hours for that clinician (a certified EHR may be used for documentation purposes, but is not required unless attesting for the Promoting Interoperability [formerly ACI] bonus); or
2) Patient Encounter/Medical Record/Claim - Patient encounter/medical record claims indicating patient was seen or services provided outside of normal business hours for that clinician including use of alternative visits; or
3) Same or Next Day Patient Encounter/Medical Record/Claim - Patient encounter/medical record claims indicating patient was seen same-day or next-day to a consistent clinician for urgent or transitional care.