What's new with PQRS in 2014?

Time has almost run out on those participating in the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) for the 2013 program year. But for those wanting to participate in 2014, it's time to prepare.

Some things to keep in mind in the new program year:

    •    This is the last year for which you can earn an incentive for satisfactorily reporting, and those who don't satisfy the 2014 PQRS quality measures will face a 2 percent payment adjustment (i.e. penalty) in 2016.
    •    Eligible professionals must report on nine measures across three National Quality Strategy domains through the use of claims, qualified registry, or electronic health record (EHR). In general, that’s an increase from 2013, when only three measures were typically required.
    •    Participants have fewer quality measures to choose to satisfy in 2014. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has added 37 new individual measures and retired 45 from the 2013 list. That said, there are still plenty of measures from which to choose, and you should use the most current version of the 2014 PQRS measure specifications.
    •    Measure groups can only be reported through a qualified registry.
    •    EHR-based reporting is now available for groups participating in the Group Practice Reporting Option, and eligible professionals can now participate in the qualified clinical data registry (QCDR), a new reporting option for 2014. A list of CMS-designated QCDRs will be available on the CMS PQRS website in May 2014.
    •    Eligible professionals and group practices can no longer use the administrative claims-based reporting method to avoid a 2016 payment adjustment.

For more information, please review the "What's New in 2014" fact sheet. You can also visit the PQRS website or contact the PQRS Help Desk.

– Kent Moore, Senior Strategist for Physician Payment for the American Academy of Family Physicians