The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) plans to combine data on healthcare quality required by the health IT meaningful use plan into its ongoing physician quality reporting and incentive program.
The new health reform law required CMS to integrate its Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) with data from the HITECH Act's meaningful use provisions by Jan. 1, 2012.
Under the PQRI, physicians who participate in Medicare can receive incentives for reporting various quality measures, a select number of which are aimed at those who want to report using EHRs.
Providers who become meaningful users of EHRs, as laid down by the HITECH Act will also be eligible for incentive payments. A final rule on that is expected soon.
The CMS has requested public comment on how it should integrate the two programs, included within a proposed rule about changes in Medicare physician payments for 2011. CMS expects to publish the proposed rule July 13.
"In an effort to align PQRI with the EHR incentive program, we propose to include many ARRA core clinical quality measures in the PQRI program, to demonstrate meaningful use of EHR and quality of care furnished to individuals," the proposed rule says.
Meaningful use measures that physicians could use for PQRI reporting through electronic health records include such things as blood pressure measurement for hypertension, body mass index screening and prevention care follow up, and drugs to be avoided in the elderly, the CMS says.
