Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Physician Compare web site – Check Your Data for Accuracy
In a previous email, the AMCNO informed our members about the CMS Physician Directory tool at www.Medicare.gov  which includes information about physicians and other healthcare workers in their communities and the services those professionals provide. The new feature, called Physician Compare, expands and updates CMS’s Healthcare Provider Directory. This new tool expands the doctor-specific information into the suite of informational tools for Medicare beneficiaries and other consumers.

The new site, at www.Medicare.gov/find-a-doctor , which was required by the Affordable Care Act of 2010, contains information about physicians enrolled in the Medicare program, which include Doctors of Medicine, Osteopathy, Optometry, Podiatric Medicine, and Chiropractic Medicine. The site also contains information about other types of health professionals who routinely care for Medicare beneficiaries, including nurse practitioners, clinical psychologists, registered dietitians, physical therapists, physician assistants, and occupational therapists. 

The first phase of the site, which offers searchable, online directory for Medicare patients, includes physician contacts and addresses, gender, medical specialty, education, residency or other training and languages spoken in addition to English. Additionally, the site also indicates whether physician practices have submitted data to ACMS on the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS). The ACA also requires CMS to post physician performance information on the web site by January 1, 2013. 

Demographic data on the Physician Compare web site, such as practice phone numbers and addresses, Medicare participation status and education information is copied from the Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS). Therefore, it is very important that physicians keep their Medicare enrollment information up to date. Physicians should take the time to go to the site and review their data and if the data is not correct be sure to make the necessary changes through CMS. Also, if you find that your data has been posted inaccurately please let us know – we would be interested in learning if the site contains inaccuracies.

To learn more about the quality information CMS already collects through Medicare’s Physician Quality Reporting System, visit http://www.cms.gov/pqri. To visit the Physician Compare website, visit www.Medicare.gov/find-a-doctor or click on the “Compare” tab at www.Healthcare.gov.