The Quality Payment Program Final Rule

Many people have asked me to review the Quality Payment Program final rule, released on October 14, 2016.Several summaries have already been written but your best bet is to rely on the CMS Quality Payment Program website at https://qpp.cms.govYes, the rule is still complex - over 2400 pages, of which more than 50% is the mandated response to comments made on the proposed rule.  The good news is that CMS has been very responsive to feedback, creating a transition plan for adoption, reducing the number of criteria and extending the timeline which enables iterative learning before large scale implementation.Under the Quality Payment Program, clinicians have two approaches to choose from for reimbursement: the Merit-based Incentive program (MIPS) and Advanced Alternative Payment Models (APMs).The Merit-based Incentive program (MIPS) is a new program for certain Medicare-participating eligible clinicians that makes payment adjustments based on quality, cost, practice improvement, and technology adoption while consolidating components of three existing programs —the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS), the Physician Value-based Payment Modifier (VM), and the Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program for eligible professionals.  MIPS focuses on quality (both a set of evidence-based, specialty-specific standards as well as practice-based improvement activities),  and use of certified electronic health record technology (CEHRT...
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - Category: Information Technology Source Type: blogs