Your MIPS Action Plan: Step 3 – A look at your EHR!
August 31, 2017
Written by Sarah Leake
From the advent of Meaningful Use was the vision of the Electronic Health Records (EHR) widespread ability to share health information and ultimately improve the quality of patient care. The Merit Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) has requirements designed around the use of EHRs for reporting data for the three categories for the 2017 Transition year.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) certification process has established standards and other criteria for structured data that EHRs must use. If seeking the electronic reporting bonus, EHR-based data submission for 2017 MIPS must be certified to the 2014 or 2015 edition certification criteria for Quality measures, Advancing Care Information (ACI), and Improvement Activities (IA). Some of this data can be submitted directly by your organization or through a third party intermediary, such as your EHR vendor.
What does it mean that I will use my Electronic Health Record for reporting?
- Reporting ACI measures out of the EHR
- The required measures depend upon your EHR Certification Level
- Electronic reporting of MIPS Quality measures using an EHR
- Submit MIPS Quality measure data directly from the Certified EHR Technology (CEHRT)
- Submit MIPS Quality measure data extracted from the CEHRT to a qualified EHR data submission vendor (DSV) who submits on behalf of the MIPS Eligible Clinicians (EC)
- ACI and IA bonus points available for reporting through EHR
The ability to report the MIPS data requirements from your EHR can be much easier, less costly and more time-efficient. Here are several important items to explore about your EHR capabilities and submission distinctions.
What items should I consider in using EHR for MIPS reporting?
- Check that your EHR is certified by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. https://chpl.healthit.gov/#/search
- Verify the certification level of your system (2014 or 2015 Edition).
- Clarify the ACI measures required for your certified EHR edition.
What are the considerations for using my EHR to report for the Quality Category?
- Verify that your EHR vendor supports eCQM reporting in the required Quality Reporting Document Architecture (QRDA) format.
- Decide if your EHR Vendor able to submit eCQM data on your behalf for the EHR method or for the Registry Method?
- Find out what quality measures are available for reporting from the EHR?
- Review the Benchmarks for EHR vs Registry Reporting. If the vendor allows for both reporting methods, decide which method will allow for a higher benchmark score.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has designed the MIPS requirements to encourage the use of EHR reporting by providing bonus opportunities when using the EHR for reporting data. This is the path you should be targeting but a thorough analysis to identify the best reporting method for your practice is an important step toward reporting efficiency and ultimately reporting success.
Resources:
EHR Certified Health IT Product List
Understanding Certified HealthIT InfoGraph
EHR Vendor Fact Sheet
Have more questions? Need help?
Complete our on-line readiness assessment! It will only take a few minutes to provide us with information to create a customized action plan for you and your practice to be successful in MIPS in 2017 and beyond.
Leave a reply, ask a question or share information using the “Leave a Reply” section below, or email Sharon Phelps directly with your questions or comments.
Other Resource Links
CMS QPP Website
HTS MIPS Services
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