Medicare/Medicaid Electronic health records incentives registration starts Jan. 3, 2011

CMS, ONC Outline Resources to Assist Eligible Providers


Today the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) announced the availability of registration for the Medicare and Medicaid electronic health record (EHR) incentive programs. CMS and ONC encouraged broad participation and outlined online and in-person resources that are in place to assist eligible professionals and eligible hospitals who wish to participate.

Beginning Jan. 3, 2011, registration will be available for eligible health care professionals and eligible hospitals who wish to participate in the Medicare EHR incentive program. On January 3, registration in the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program will also be available in Alaska, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. In February, registration will open in California, Missouri, and North Dakota. Other states likely will launch their Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs during the spring and summer of 2011.

“It’s time to get connected,” said David Blumenthal, MD, MPP, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. “ONC and CMS have worked together over many months to prepare for the startup on January 3rd. ONC’s Certified HIT Product List includes more than 130 certified EHR systems or modules and is updated frequently. ONC also has hands-on assistance available across the country through 62 Regional Extension Centers
We look forward to continuing to work with CMS to assist eligible providers in 2011 and future years.”

Eligible professionals and eligible hospitals must register in order to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive programs. They can do so, starting Jan. 3, 2011, at a registration site maintained by CMS.

To prepare for registration, interested providers should first familiarize themselves with the incentive programs’ requirements by visiting CMS’ Official Web Site for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs. The site provides general and detailed information on the programs, including tabs on the path to payment, eligibility, meaningful use, certified EHR technology, and frequently asked questions.

For more information please read CMS press release issued today (12/22): https://www.cms.gov/apps/media/press/release.asp?Counter=3887&intNumPerPage=10&checkDate=&checkKey=&srchType=1&numDays=3500&srchOpt=0&srchData=&keywordType=All&chkNewsType=1%2C+2%2C+3%2C+4%2C+5&intPage=&showAll=&pYear=&year=&desc=&cboOrder=date

CMS PQRI Town Hall February 9, 2011

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will host a Town Hall Meeting on February 9, 2011, from 10 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.to discuss the Physician Quality Reporting System (formerly known as the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative, or PQRI). The purpose of the Town Hall Meeting is to solicit input from participating stakeholders on individual quality measures and measures groups being considered for possible inclusion in the proposed set of quality measures for use in the 2012 Physician Quality Reporting System and key components of the design of the Physician Quality Reporting System. The opinions and alternatives provided during this meeting will assist CMS develop the Physician Quality Reporting System for 2012.

Interested parties are invited to participate, either onsite at CMS headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland, or via teleconference. The meeting is open to the public; however attendance is limited to space and teleconference lines available.

CMS anticipates posting an audio download and/or transcript of the Town Hall meeting on the CMS Web site, http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI, on the CMS website and http://www.usqualitymeasures.org, on the internet following the meeting.


The Town Hall Meeting will be held on February 9, 2011, from 10 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (E.S.T.) in the main auditorium of the Central Building of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21244–1850.


Meeting Registration and Request for Special Accommodations Deadline:


Registration opens on Monday, December 20, 2010. For security reasons, registration and requests for special accommodations must be completed no later than 5 p.m. E.S.T. on Friday, January 28, 2011.


Anyone interested in attending the meeting or participating by teleconference must register by completing the online registration at http://www.usqualitymeasures.org on the internet.

For more information, please see the Federal Register meeting notice posted at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-31301.pdf on the internet.

To learn more about the 2012 Physician Quality Reporting System Call for Measures, please visit http://www.cms.gov/MMS/13_CallForMeasures.asp#TopOfPage on the CMS website.

NCQA Recognition Programs and the Medicare (CMS) Physicians Quality Reporting Initiative

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) designated three NCQA Recognition Programs as registries for quality reporting for the purposes of the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI). Providers participating in Medicare's PQRI program receive financial rewards for collecting and reporting practice data about the quality of their care as well as being recognized for their superb care. In 2010, the reward is equal to 2 percent of total allowed Medicare Part B charges for services furnished during 2010.

Clinicians, who have earned Recognition from NCQA through the Diabetes Recognition Program (DRP), the Heart Stroke Recogniton Program (HSRP) or the Back Pain Recognition Program (BPRP), can have NCQA submit their clinical quality data to CMS. To qualify, Recognized clinicians must submit their PQRI qualifying data to NCQA by December 31, 2010.

NCQA is also providing clinicians who are currently applying for or
considering applying for NCQA's DRP, HSRP or BPRP program with submission of their qualifying data to 2010 PQRI registry as an added feature to the Recognition Process.


Make the Most of Your NCQA Recognition!

• For more information about NCQA's PQRI Program,
visit www.ncqa.org/Recognition

• For more information about DRP,
visit www.ncqa.org/drp

• For more information about HSRP,
visit www.ncqa.org/hsrp

• For more information about BPRP,
visit http://www.ncqa.org/bprp



For more information, including instructions and frequently asked questions, visit NCQA at www.ncqa.org/Recognition

CMS eRX/ePrescribing:How to avoid the penalty in 2012

2011 Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program Update

In November, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced that, beginning in 2012, eligible professionals who are not successful electronic prescribers may be subject to a payment adjustment on their Medicare Part B Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) covered professional services. Section 132 of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA) authorizes CMS to apply this payment adjustment whether or not the eligible professional is planning to participate in the eRx Incentive Program.

From 2012 through 2014, the payment adjustment will increase each calendar year. In 2012, the payment adjustment for not being a successful electronic prescriber will result in an eligible professional or group practice receiving 99% of their Medicare Part B PFS amount that would otherwise apply to such services. In 2013, an eligible professional or group practice will receive 98.5% of their Medicare Part B PFS covered professional services for not being a successful electronic prescriber in 2011 or as defined in a future regulation. In 2014, the payment adjustment for not being a successful electronic prescriber is 2%, resulting in an eligible professional or group practice receiving 98% of their Medicare Part B PFS covered professional services.

The payment adjustment does not apply if <10%>

Please note that earning an eRx incentive for 2011 will NOT necessarily exempt an eligible professional or group practice from the payment adjustment in 2011.

How to Avoid the 2012 eRx Payment Adjustment

· Eligible professionals – An eligible professional can avoid the 2012 eRx Payment if (s)he:

- Is not a physician (MD, DO, or podiatrist), nurse practitioner, or physician assistant as of Jun 30, 2011 based on primary taxonomy code in NPPES;

- Does not have prescribing privileges. Note: (S)he must report (G8644) at least one time on an eligible claim prior to June 30, 2011;

- Does not have at least 100 cases containing an encounter code in the measure denominator;

- Becomes a successful e-prescriber; and

- Reports the eRx measure for at least 10 unique eRx events for patients in the denominator of the measure.

· Group Practices - For group practices that are participating in eRx GPRO I or GPRO II during 2011, the group practice MUST become a successful e-prescriber.

- Depending on the group’s size, the group practice must report the eRx measure for 75-2,500 unique eRx events for patients in the denominator of the measure.

For additional information, please visit the “Getting Started” webpage at http://www.cms.gov/erxincentive on the CMS website for more information; or download the Medicare’s Practical Guide to the Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program under Educational Resources.