Reminder: 2020 MIPS Self-Nomination Period Closes on September 3rd

As a reminder, the end of the 2020 MIPS self-nomination period is September 3^rd, 2019 at 8 pm ET. The self-nomination portal will lock down at the deadline and additional edits will not be permissible. Please ensure that your 2020 MIPS self-nomination form is complete and submitted in the Quality Payment Program portal Self-Nomination tool before the deadline by clicking the “Submit for Review” button. You can only submit the self-nomination form for review after all required fields are complete on each tab. The Vertical Progress Indicator on the left side of the form will have an indicator for each tab that will include green checkmarks once the tab has been completely populated, and the “Submit for Review” button will be enabled.

Once you have clicked the “Submit for Review” button, the Vendor Landing page will list your self-nomination with the nomination status of “In Self-Nomination Review”.

To submit QCDR measures for review, please be sure to complete and upload the 2020 QCDR Measure Submission Template. If your 2020 QCDR Measure Submission Template has been pre-populated, please do not modify the PIMMS Tracking ID and Measure ID fields to maintain accuracy. Please note, QCDR measure submissions will not be reviewed or accepted if they are not included in the 2020 QCDR Measure Submission Template.

If you have submitted your self-nomination form, please check your submitted application periodically to see if there are any follow-up questions with regards to your self-nomination form or QCDR measures, and/or correspondence, as there is a high volume of notifications being communicated.

Last Chance to Register: Quality Payment Program Performance Information Published on Physician Compare Webinar

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) with the Physician Compare support team are hosting two one-hour webinars on the 2017 Quality Payment Program performance information recently published on Physician Compare. The webinars will share background information about Physician Compare and provide information on the 2017 performance information recently added to Physician Compare profile pages for Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) eligible clinicians and groups and ACOs.

Both webinars will present the same information, and during each webinar the Physician Compare support team will address your questions with a question and answer session.

Two separate times are offered to help best accommodate your busy schedule. Register today. Webinars will be conducted via WebEx at the following times:

Tuesday, July 30, 2019 at 11:00 am ET / 8:00 am PT – Register for this session
Thursday, August 1, 2019 at 3:00 pm ET / 12:00 pm PT – Register for this session

Registration ends today. We look forward to meeting you there.

If you have any questions about public reporting on Physician Compare, visit the Physician Compare Initiative page, or contact us at PhysicianCompare@Westat.com.

Reminder: Comments Due August 12th for the RFI on Reducing Administrative Burden to Put Patients over Paperwork

In June, CMS issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking new ideas from the public on how to continue the progress of the Patients over Paperwork initiative. Since launching in fall 2017, Patients over Paperwork has streamlined regulations to significantly cut the “red tape” that weighs down our healthcare system and takes clinicians away from their primary mission—caring for patients. As of January 2019, CMS estimates that through regulatory reform alone, the healthcare system will save an estimated 40 million hours and $5.7 billion through 2021. These estimated savings come from both final and proposed rules.

The RFI on Reducing Administrative Burden to Put Patients over Paperwork invites patients and their families, the medical community, and other healthcare stakeholders to recommend further changes to rules, policies, and procedures that would shift more of clinicians’ time and our healthcare system’s resources from needless paperwork to high-quality care that improves patient health.

The RFI provides an opportunity for you to share new ideas not conveyed during the first Patients over Paperwork RFI in 2017 and continue the conversation on improving healthcare delivery. We are seeking innovative ideas that broaden perspectives on potential solutions to relieve burden and ways to improve:

Reporting and documentation requirements
Coding and documentation requirements for Medicare or Medicaid payment
Prior authorization procedures
Policies and requirements for rural providers, clinicians, and beneficiaries
Policies and requirements for dually enrolled (i.e., Medicare and Medicaid) beneficiaries
Beneficiary enrollment and eligibility determination
CMS processes for issuing regulations and policies

More Information on the RFI on Reducing Administrative Burden to Put Patients over Paperwork

The RFI on Reducing Administrative Burden to Put Patients over Paperwork is posted in the Federal Register at: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/06/11/2019-12215/request-for-information-reducing-administrative-burden-to-put-patients-over-paperwork Comments must be submitted by August 12, 2019.

Upcoming Webinar: Use of Clinical Dashboards to Drive Performance Improvement for eCQMs

This Outreach and Education webinar for participants in the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) and Promoting Interoperability Programs is scheduled for Wednesday, July 31, 2019.

The webinar, titled Use of Clinical Dashboards to Drive Performance Improvement for eCQMs, will be presented by Denise Garcia Egan, MPH, Director of Clinical Business Intelligence, Open Door Family Medical Centers; Debbie Krauss, MS, RN, Nurse Consultant, Center for Clinical Standards & Quality, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); Holly McNary, BSN, RN, Clinical Outcomes Specialist, Quality External Reporting, Texas Health Resources; Barbara Ray, RHIA, Director of Quality Measurement & Reporting, Texas Health Resources; and Artrina Sturges Ed.D., Alignment of Electronic Clinical Quality Measures (eCQMs) Lead, Inpatient Value, Incentives, and Quality Reporting (VIQR) Outreach and Education Support Contractor.

This presentation is an overview of hospital and provider organization initiatives and activities that use clinical dashboards to display eCQM performance to improve patient care and outcomes and close care gaps.

The webinar slides will be available for download from www.QualityReportingCenter.com under Upcoming Events the day before the presentation.

The webinar will be presented on Wednesday, July 31, 2019, at 2 p.m. ET.

You may register for the webinar at the following link: https://cc.readytalk.com/r/aphpsr50cf3m&eom

Please do not respond directly to this email. For further assistance regarding the information contained in this message, please contact the Inpatient VIQR Outreach and Education Support Contract Team at https://cms-ip.custhelp.com or (844) 472-4477.