Now Available: CMS Hospital Quality Reporting System is Now Open for Calendar Year 2018 Electronic Clinical Quality Measure (eCQM) Data

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) would like to notify hospitals and vendors that as of September 12, 2018, the Hospital Quality Reporting system is available to accept eCQM data for the Calendar Year (CY) 2018 reporting period. The system, accessible via the QualityNet Secure Portal, has been updated to accept Quality Reporting Document Architecture (QRDA) Category I test and production files utilizing the CY 2018 requirements.

NOTE: Test QRDA Category I data submissions are considered practice and do not count towards CMS program credit. Production QRDA Category I data submissions are provided by hospitals, or by health IT vendors on the hospital’s behalf, and are the final data submissions intended to fulfill the electronic CQM reporting requirements for the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting and Promoting Interoperability Programs.

Pre-Submission Validation Application (PSVA) Availability

CMS notified hospitals and vendors via ListServe 2018-127-IP, in July 2018, that the PSVA tool was updated to contain the CY 2018 eCQM specifications so that hospitals and their vendors can conduct format checks of test and production files. The PSVA tool also provides a report to identify errors in the file(s) prior to file submissions. The CMS system is open to accept test and production QRDA Category I file submissions utilizing the PSVA tool. Visit QualityReportingCenter.com to locate materials for the August 8, 2018 webinar, PSVA Overview for eCQM Data Submission in Calendar Year 2018.

NOTE: The PSVA tool will require users to download a new version of the PSVA tool and the 2018 Schematron, if it has not been updated since July 20, 2018. If a PSVA tool update is available, users will be prompted to update the tool. Users can download the latest version of the tool after logging into the Secure File Transfer application within the QualityNet Secure Portal. When users open the PSVA tool, the application will run a check against the Schematron that the user currently has installed. The PSVA tool will identify that a new Schematron is available and will prompt users to download the new Schematron to their workstation.

In response to provider need, CMS has developed and posted updated resources to assist with the reporting of CY 2018 eCQM data for the Hospital IQR Program and the Promoting Interoperability Program for eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals. These documents include:

• CY 2018 Available eCQMs

• CY 2018 eCQM Overview

• CY 2018 Preparation Checklists for Test and Production Files

• CY 2018 EHR Report Overview

You may view these documents under the eCQM Resources pages on the QualityNet.org and QualityReportingCenter.com websites. We hope that you will find them useful as you outline the steps needed for the submission of eCQM data for CY 2018.

As a reminder, hospitals are required to submit at least four of the available 15 eCQMs for one self-selected quarter of CY 2018 data (Q1, Q2, Q3 or Q4) by the reporting deadline, February 28, 2019, 11:59 p.m. PT. The successful submission of eCQMs includes any combination of QRDA Category I files with patients meeting the initial patient population of the applicable measure(s), zero denominator declarations, and/or case threshold exemptions. Utilization of the zero denominator and case threshold exemption only apply if the hospital has EHR technology certified to report the eCQMs.

Additional Resources

• Calendar Year 2018 QRDA Category I Schematrons and Sample Files for Hospital Quality Reporting on the eCQI Resource Center: https://ecqi.healthit.gov/system/files/eCQM_2018SchematronsSampleFilesHospital_1_0.zip
• QualityNet eCQM overview information: http://www.qualitynet.org/dcs/ContentServer?c=Page&pagename=QnetPublic%2FPage%2FQnetTier2&cid=1228773849716

Contacts

• For questions concerning the QualityNet Secure Portal, PSVA tool, and file error messages, contact the QualityNet Help Desk at qnetsupport@hcqis.org or (866) 288-2912.
• For questions regarding eCQM specifications, value sets, and appropriateness of mapping, contact the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) eCQM Issue Tracker at https://oncprojectracking.healthit.gov/support/projects/CQM/summary.
• For questions regarding the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program, contact the Hospital Inpatient Value, Incentives, and Quality Reporting Outreach and Education Support Contract team at https://cms-ip.custhelp.com or (844) 472-4477.
• For questions regarding the Promoting Interoperability Program (formerly referred to as the Electronic Health Record Incentive Program) contact the