PQRS and eRX report released

Thursday, May 28, 2015 07:36 AM
Print this page E-mail this page

2015 registration ends June 30

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently released the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) and Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Experience Report for 2013. This annual report analyzes trends in program participation, incentive eligibility, and incentive payments, as well as performance measures broken down by specialty and state. Click here to download the full report, a zip file at the bottom of the page.

Notable results include:

  • A 47 percent increase in eligible professional (EP) PQRS participation over 2012.
  • 2013 PQRS incentive payments totaling nearly $215 million.
  • A 9 percent increase in eRx participation over 2012, with more than $168 million in total 2013 incentive payments.

Additionally, the report indicates progress in the agency’s efforts to improve quality measurements and to encourage the development of a national electronic health information infrastructure. PQRS initially used incentive payments to encourage participation. Negative payment adjustments began on Jan. 1, 2015 for eligible professionals and group practices based on 2013 reporting.

The eRx Incentive Program used a combination of incentive payments and payment adjustments to encourage electronic prescribing. The incentive program ended in 2013, but electronic prescribing will continue through Meaningful Use.

There are still a few weeks left to register for the 2015 PQRS Group Practice Reporting Option (GPRO) via the Physician Value - Physician Quality Reporting System (PV-PQRS) Registration System. PQRS GPRO is an option available to groups with two or more eligible professionals. More information is available on the PQRS Payment Adjustment Information webpage (link here). Satisfactory reporting via a PQRS GPRO is one way groups can avoid automatic downward adjustments and qualify for performance-based payment incentives under the Value Modifier.

Eligible groups need to sign up by midnight (EST) on June 30, 2015. For registration instructions, see the 2015 PQRS GPRO Registration Guide (link here).

To learn more about PQRS and how Colorado practices may benefit from PQRS GPRO, contact marcy.cameron@area-d.hcqis.org.


Posted in: ASAP | LiveWire
 

Comments

Please sign in to view or post comments.