Volume 1 Edition 7 | June 2018
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Welcome to the QPP Quest!
Your knowledge hub during the
Quality Payment Program (QPP) journey.
The QPP Quest, brought to you by
Health Services Advisory Group (HSAG),
provides what you need to know now to prepare
and successfully participate in the QPP.
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n this issue, we will highlight key tips to prepare for MIPS in 2018, important updates from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS), the Medicare Learning Network (MLN), and helpful QPP tools and resources.
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Quality Payment Program Website Now Offers 2018 MIPS Clinician Eligibility at the Group Level
After logging in, using your Enterprise Identity Management (EIDM) credentials, browse to the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) affiliated with your group, and you will be able to click into a details screen to see the eligibility status of every clinician associated with the TIN, and find out whether they need to participate during the 2018 performance year for MIPS.
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Top Three Tips for 2018 MIPS Readiness
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- Generate MIPS reports to ensure your measures are on track as you head into the third quarter.
- Determine if your EHR system requires any updates by reaching out to vendors. Upgrade early!
- Begin to consider the various submission methods to determine if one is better than another for your practice. Did you create your EIDM account yet? If not, download the guide here.
to stay on track throughout the MIPS reporting year.
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Upcoming Learning Forum Friday Events
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Friday, June 8, 2018
1 p.m. ET
Let’s Talk Improvement
Activities
Learn about the 2018 Improvement Activities category requirements.
After completion of this training, attendees will be able to:
- Select appropriate Improvement Activities to score maximum points.
- Summarize Improvement Activities scoring methodologies.
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Friday, July 13, 2018
1 p.m. ET
Summer's Here—Is Your Performance Sizzling?
Learn
tips and strategies to assess your mid-year performance.
After completion of this training, attendees will be able to:
- Identify the performance needed to maximize 2018 final scoring.
- Apply strategies to improve performance to meet the 2018 QPP requirements.
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Here's What Your Peers are Saying About Learning Forum Fridays:
- As always, I find your presentations clear, timely and beneficial.
- Visuals and explanation of benchmarks and scoring criteria were most valuable.
- I appreciate the real-world examples given that relate to the written information. Reading/ listening to Medicare guidelines can be mind-numbing and confusing.
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Webinars and Updates
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QPP Clinician Champions Program—Apply Now!
The QPP Clinician Champions Program offers the opportunity to collaborate with CMS in a voluntary capacity, sharing insights and feedback from a community of peers. Current participants spend approximately 4–6 hours per month volunteering in this role. If you’re eager to support clinician practice transformation while helping CMS more effectively communicate about the QPP, then joining this program may be right for you. Some of the responsibilities of Clinician Champions include:
- Providing grassroots, leading edge perspective on the value of the program as well as identifying peer concerns, challenges, and misconceptions
- Identifying clinically specific case studies and examples that demonstrate real life applicability of the program
- Sharing credible, authentic insights that can be promoted through national, regional, and local channels
- Speaking at conferences or leading focus groups and providing real-time feedback on the events or discussion to CMS
- Providing feedback on agency approaches to reduce administrative burden
- Participating in monthly meetings
Interested candidates must return an application by June 8, 2018
, and CMS will notify those selected later this summer.
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Tuesday, June 12, 2018
1 p.m. ET
Promoting Interoperability Webinar
Learn about the Promoting Interoperability performance category
(formerly the Advancing Care Information performance category) of the
Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). its requirements, and scoring.
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Wednesday, June 13, 2018
12–1 p.m. ET
CMS Quality Measures: Development, Implementation, and You
CMS is committed to improving quality, safety, accessibility, and affordability of healthcare for all. This webinar takes a closer look at the measure development phases, and how providers, patients, and families can be engaged throughout the process. It also describes the importance of patient and family engagement to CMS, and how patient-centeredness is a cornerstone of the efforts to improve healthcare quality.
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Thursday, June 14, 2018
4–5 p.m. ET
CMS Quality Measures: Development, Implementation, and You
CMS is committed to improving quality, safety, accessibility, and affordability of healthcare for all. This webinar takes a closer look at the measure development phases, and how providers, patients, and families can be engaged throughout the process. It also describes the importance of patient and family engagement to CMS, and how patient-centeredness is a cornerstone of the efforts to improve healthcare quality.
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Upcoming Webinars for Small Practices
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Tuesday, June 12, 2018
3:30 p.m. ET
Understanding your Data and How to Prepare for MIPS Year
2
Learn how to avoid penalties, successfully transition from individual to group reporting, use tips for addressing frequent challenges encountered by solo practitioners and small group practices, and how to access free technical assistance resources available right now from CMS or a local Technical Assistance Organization funded by
CMS
.
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Thursday, June 14, 2018
11 a.m. ET
Understanding your Data and How to Prepare for MIPS Year
2
Learn how to avoid penalties, successfully transition from individual to group reporting, use tips for addressing frequent challenges encountered by solo practitioners and small group practices, and how to access free technical assistance resources available right now from CMS or a local Technical Assistance Organization funded by CMS
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Medicare Learning Network (MLN) Updates
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Register Before June 30 for MIPS Group Web Interface and CAHPS for MIPS Survey Reporting for 2018
Registration is required for groups that intend to use the CMS Web Interface and/or administer the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS)
for MIPS survey 2018.
To learn more, visit the Quality Payment Program
website
.
The registration period is from
April 1, 2018 through June 30, 2018
.
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Clinicians have the option to join an Alternative Payment Model (APM) for a different MIPS reporting experience. Joining an ACO has several benefits such as better care for patients, financial rewards, and assistance with MIPS reporting. Learn things to consider when joining an ACO
here
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Crystal Bond, Practice Manager
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I can’t say enough about our ACO. We are independent, not a part of a hospital or system, but it honestly has helped so much. Especially if you’re new and going in blind. they have people who do this all day every day who can help you through the process.
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We Want to Hear Your QPP Chronicle
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Have a QPP/MIPS reporting best practice or success story you would like to share? Let us know by clicking “Share a Best Practice” and complete the online form. You may be selected to be featured in our next QPP Quest!
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Quality Initiative Spotlight
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Emergency Preparedness—Prepare Now
Have you discussed an emergency preparedness plan
with your patients? It is important to know what to do in the event of an emergency. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend creating a plan, reviewing and practicing that plan regularly, and keeping and emergency supply kit stocked and ready for use. To learn more or to view resources on developing a plan, click
here.
Resources to
accessing care and medications during an emergency can also be found
here
.
Educate your patients on what they should have in the event of a emergency or natural disaster (e.g., hurricanes, fires, earthquakes), such as a:
- Medical power of attorney
- List of medications and allergies
- Health insurance card
- Photo identification
Do you have an emergency preparedness plan for your practice? The American Academy of Family Physicians has “A Practical Guide to Emergency Preparedness for Office-Based Family Physicians” located
here
. This guide includes:
- A checklist for emergency supplies
- An algorithm for implementing an office emergency preparedness program
Another resource to help your practice plan ahead and respond when an emergency or natural disaster strikes, is located
here
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MIPS REPORTING TIP
Did you now there are two Improvement Activities under MIPS that are related to emergency preparedness? They fall under the
Emergency Response & Preparedness
subcategory and are:
- Participation on Disaster Medical Assistance Team, registered for six months (IA_ERP_1)
- Participation in a 60-day or greater effort to support domestic or international humanitarian needs (IA_ERP_2)
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June is National Safety Month
The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion states one in four older adults has a fall
each year.
Many falls lead to broken bones or a head injury. You can make a difference!
During June, National Safety Month,
Health Services Advisory Group
is working with community members to help reduce the risk of injuries from falls. We encourage you to learn more about important safety issues like preventing slips, trips, and falls. For more information on preventing injuries from falls, click
here
.
MIPS REPORTING TIP
There are three measures in the Quality category and one measure in the Improvement Activities category that are related to assessment and managing the risk of falls.
Quality Measures:
- Falls—Plan of Care (Quality ID: 155)
- Falls—Risk Assessment (Quality ID: 154)
- Falls—Screening for Future Fall Risk (Quality ID: 318)
Improvement Activities:
- Implementation of fall screening and assessment programs (Activity ID: IA_PSPA_21)
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Behavioral Health Spotlight
Need resources on Quality measures that focus on Depression? View short, "bite-sized" recorded learning modules related to improving identification of depression and alcohol use disorder in primary care practices
MIPS-aligned measures and activities.
Find recordings and transcripts
here
.
MIPS REPORTING TIP
These Improvement Activities get
10 bonus points in Promoting Interoperability:
- IA_BMH_7 Implementation of Integrated Patient Centered Behavioral Health Model (PCBH)
- IA_BMH_8 Electronic Health Record Enhancements for Behavioral Health Data Capture
To learn more about these important activities, click
here.
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Cardiac Health Spotlight
Did you know that participating in Million Hearts® is an Improvement Activity for MIPS? Learn more about Million Hearts®
here
and see MIPS Quality measures below and interventions to improve your patient’s
ABCS
of heart health.
- Prescribe Aspirin when appropriate.
- Quality ID: 204 (Ischemic Vascular Disease (IVD): Use of Aspirin or Another Antiplatelet)
- Use motivational interviewing techniques and encourage medication adherence to control Blood pressure.
- Quality ID: 236 (Controlling High Blood Pressure)
- Reduce Cholesterol through patient self-management and nutrition education.
- Quality ID: 438 (Statin Therapy for the Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease)
- Recommend tobacco users to quit Smoking. Refer to a Quit Now program in your area.
- Quality ID: 226 (Prevention Care and Screening: Tobacco Use: Screening and Cessation Intervention)
The 2017 Journal of American College of Cardiology Blood Pressure Guidelines can be accessed
here.
HSAG and the American Cancer Society are collaborating on a webinar series focused on treating tobacco use. Download the slides and view the May 2, 2018 recorded webinar,
Evidence-Based Interventions to Help Patients Quit Tobacco,
here.
- Click here to register for the June 22, 2018 Webinar: Promoting the Journey Toward Successful Smoking Cessation: Healthcare Provider Interventions
- Stay tuned for information on the third webinar in the series.
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Immunization Health Spotlight
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), in alignment with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has a five-year initiative to improve adult immunization rates and reduce immunization disparities for influenza, pneumonia, and shingles. These debilitating and communicable diseases are particularly prevalent in the over-65 population but can be reduced or prevented through the timely administration of immunization vaccines. You can help! Do your part by:
- Using standing orders and assessing patients each visit to improve immunization performance.
- Accessing your state immunization registry to determine if patient received an immunization elsewhere.
MIPS REPORTING TIP
The Advancing Care Information (ACI) performance category was recently renamed to Promoting Interoperability (PI). The Immunization Registry Reporting measures below can be reported for PI:
- ACI_PHCDRR_1 (for 2014 CEHRT)
- ACI_TRANS_PHCDRR_1 (for 2015 CEHRT
To learn more scoring for this measure, see Appendix A in the Promoting Interoperability Fact Sheet
here
.
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HSAG QPP Service Center Feedback
Here's what your peers are saying about HSAG's technical assistance and educational support...
- I was alerted to the negative consequences of not reporting and the willingness of HSAG to be there to help with any questions I may have. I did have some questions that HSAG helped me with.
- Absolutely outstanding assistance. I called back several times, and each time I was given immediate help. No transferring me around, no putting me on hold.....The staff were so great!
- Clarified some points from the webinar and added additional guidance. Great!!
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Subscribe to Get the Information You Need
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Join HSAG's QPP Community Mailing List
Stay informed about all QPP updates, webinars and best practices by joining the
HSAG QPP Community Mailing List! Invite your colleagues and other medical staff to join, as well! To join, email
HSAGQPPSupport@hsag.com
. I
n the subject line, enter “Join the HSAG QPP Community Mailing List.” Please include your organization name, your first and last name, email address, city, and state in your email.
It’s important to be aware of all quality improvement and QPP reporting resources as
we navigate this new healthcare system driven by high-quality care at a low cost!
HSAG is pleased to support you in your QPP journey!
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CMS QPP Listserv
Don't forget to sign up on the
C
MS.gov QPP website
.
Once you've accessed the QPP page, scroll to
[Subscribe to Updates]
at the bottom of the page and insert your email address before clicking
[Subscribe]
. The QPP listserv is a valuable resource to stay informed of webinars and important QPP deadlines, especially now that the submission period has opened.
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This material was prepared by Health Services Advisory Group, the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for Arizona, California, Florida, Ohio, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents presented do not necessarily reflect CMS policy. Publication No. QN-11SOW-D.1-06052018-03
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