AMCNO co-sponsored Webinar on the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative

The Academy of Medicine of Cleveland & Northern Ohio was proud to co-sponsor an extremely successful Webinar April 11 on the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI), with more than 175 participants engaged in the interactive learning experience. The AMCNO organized this event in partnership with PalmettoGBA in an effort to clarify for our members and their practice staffers PQRI’s components and requirements. Our featured speaker, Dr. Susan Nedza of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Special Program Office, meticulously went through the associated materials to explain the incentive structure and reporting details while participants followed along to an Internet slide show as they listened in to the conferenced call.

Dr. Nedza explained that medical practices will be eligible for a 1.5 percent bonus under the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, which authorized the creation of the PQRI, and that will pay physician practices a capped bonus for reporting validated quality measures during the last half of 2007. It is a voluntary program that will provide a financial incentive not only to physicians but many other eligible professionals who successfully report quality information related to services provided under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule between July 1 and December 31, 2007. All Medicare-enrolled eligible professional may participate, regardless of whether they have signed a Medicare participation agreement to accept assignment on all claims.

There are now 74 reportable quality measures posted at www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI  as a download on the Measures/Codes webpage. Detailed measure specifications and instructions will be posted well in advance of the July 1, 2007 deadline. The 1.5 aggregate bonus payment will come in a lump-sum payable to the Tax Identification Number (TIN) of the provider or practice in mid-2008. This is important to note that although individual providers will be reporting through their NPI number, the total bonus will not be delineated by CMS by the same identifier, should more than one in a practice setting submit measures during the six-month reporting period. More information on the PQRI program may be obtained at the above referenced link or in the upcoming issue of the Northern Ohio Physician magazine.