Submit Proposals for New Measures for the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program by June 28

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) wants to remind eligible hospitals, critical access hospitals, and other stakeholders that the Annual Call for Measures for the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program is still open. Submit a measure proposal by June 28, 2019.

Proposals submitted by the deadline will be considered for inclusion in future rulemaking.

CMS is interested in adding measures that:

Build on the advanced use of certified EHR technology (CEHRT) using 2015 Edition Certification Standards and Criteria;
Promote interoperability and health information exchange;
Improve program efficiency, effectiveness, and flexibility;
Provide patient access to health information;
Reduce clinician burden; and
Align with MIPS Promoting Interoperability performance category.

Applicants should also consider the following when submitting their proposal:

Health IT activities that may be attested to in lieu of traditional reporting;
Potential new Opioid Use Disorder prevention and treatment related measures; and
Measurable outcomes demonstrating greater efficiency in costs or resource use that can be linked to the use of health IT-enabled processes.

Submission Details

Proposals must be sent to CMSPICallforMeasures@ketchum.com. Applicants will receive email confirmations of their submissions.

Submission forms must be complete to be considered. Proposals that do not provide information for every field/section in the form will not be evaluated for consideration. Any information/field not applicable to the measure proposal must state “N/A” or “not applicable” or the proposal will not be considered.

Resources

Reminder: The Annual Call for MIPS Quality Measures Closes June 3

CMS reminds you to submit Quality measures for consideration for future years of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). The MIPS Annual Call for Quality Measures process allows clinicians, professional associations and medical societies that represent eligible clinicians, researchers, consumer groups and others to identify and submit measure recommendations in the following domains:

Patient safety
Person and caregiver-centered experience and outcomes
Communication and care coordination
Effective clinical care
Community/population health
Efficiency and cost reduction

How to Submit Measures

If you’re interested in proposing new Quality measures for MIPS, you can do so through the ONC-JIRA system. Visit the pre-rulemaking website on CMS.gov to learn more about JIRA and how to submit measures for consideration.

Measures submitted during the Call for Measures period must:

Be fully developed measures (testing data must accompany submission)
Fulfill a clinical performance gap and is supported by a scientific evidence
Be reportable via Clinical Quality Measures (CQMs), Medicare Part B claims or as an eCQM (electronic clinical quality measure)
Valid and reliable at the individual clinician level
Be ready for implementation at the time of submission
Not the same as existing quality measure in MIPS

Submission must also include a completed Peer Reviewed Journal Article Form, which is available in the 2019 Call for Quality Measures zip file.

JIRA will accept proposed Quality measure submissions through June 3, 2019.

Measures that are accepted as part of the Call for Quality Measures will be added to the 2019 Measures Under Consideration (MUC) List. The finalized MUC List will be available by December 1, 2019 and reviewed at the National Quality Forum’s Annual Measure Application Partnership meeting in December. CMS will then decide which measures will be considered for future rulemaking.

A list of proposed quality measures for consideration in the MIPS program for 2020 will be publicly available for comment by July 1, 2019 and a final annual list of 2020 measures for MIPS eligible clinicians will be published in the Federal Register by November 1 of this year.

For More Information

Download the Call for Measures and Activities materials (zip) within the Quality Payment Program Resource Library. A webinar recording and presentation on the MIPS Annual Call for Measures and Activities are also available on the QPP Webinar Library.

Reminder: 2019 Call for MIPS Promoting Interoperability Measures and Improvement Activities is Open

CMS reminds you to submit Promoting Interoperability measures and Improvement Activities for consideration for future years of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). The MIPS Annual Call for Measures and Activities process allows clinicians, professional associations and medical societies that represent clinicians, researchers, consumer groups and others to identify and submit measures and activities. We are currently accepting submissions for:

EHR measures for the Promoting Interoperability performance category
Activities for the Improvement Activities performance category

CMS is looking for improvement activities that can be considered higher than standard of care. This means sets of practices or activities that exceed defined, commonly accepted guidelines for level of quality or attainment in clinical care or quality improvement guidelines reflecting the minimum that would be expected of any clinician treating a given patient related to the concept, recommendation, and care.

CMS won’t accept duplicative concepts. This means improvement activities that are identical to, or may partially be contained within, an existing or retired activity; activities that are similar in concept, but are not as comprehensive as existing improvement activities

How to Submit Measures and Activities

If you’re interested in proposing new measures and activities for MIPS, review the Call for Measures and Activities Overview fact sheet (zip) and fill out and submit the following forms during the specified submission periods:

Improvement Activities Performance Category (submission period ends July 1, 2019 for 2021 activities)
Promoting Interoperability Performance Category (submission period ends July 1, 2019 for 2021 measures)

For More Information