According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) 2014 Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) Experience Report [PDF], 76.1 percent of eligible cardiologists participated in the program in 2014, among whom the average incentive payment was $1,000. Participation is up from previous years when 67.9 percent of cardiologists participated in 2013 and 53.5 percent took part in 2012.

Cardiology was the third largest specialty reporting via measures groups through a qualified registry and the fifth among specialties earning an incentive via this mechanism. Cardiology was also the third largest specialty reporting measures through an electronic health record (EHR) and eighth among specialties earning an incentive via EHRs. Cardiology had the largest number of participants reporting via a Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR) – the PINNACLE Registry – as well as the most eligible professionals earning an incentive via the QCDR mechanism compared to all other specialties. As for participation in the Group Practice Reporting Option (GPRO) and a Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organization (ACO), cardiology ranked ninth and fifth respectively. For PQRS participation via a Pioneer ACO, cardiology came in fifth.

In 2016 eligible providers [PDF] must report on nine measures, including two outcome measures, covering three National Quality Domains in order to avoid a 2 percent penalty in 2018. In 2016, 8,518 cardiologists are subject to the adjustment. For the 2016 PQRS program year, the PINNACLE Registry and the Diabetes Collaborative Registry are a CMS-approved QCDR. To provide participants of the PINNACLE Registry and/or Diabetes Collaborative Registry greater flexibility to meet PQRS requirements, the ACC is offering to report on 16 measures [PDF] covering four National Quality Domains. Providers will also receive online benchmark reports to help validate the quality care you provide and identify areas of opportunity for quality improvement. PQRS submission through the QCDR is a free benefit for practices and for the first time in 2016, the QCDR category will be expanded to allow for Group Practice Reporting (GPRO). This is a significant change to the previous program years, where only individual provider reporting was offered. Practices must self-nominate for GPRO using the CMS interface by June 30, 2016. Learn more about reporting through the PINNACLE and Diabetes Collaborative registries.

For more information: www.acc.org/PQRS.

Keywords: Accountable Care Organizations, Benchmarking, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S., Diabetes Mellitus, Lipoatrophic, Electronic Health Records, Group Practice, Medicaid, Medicare, Motivation, Outcome Assessment, Health Care, Physicians, Quality Improvement, Registries, United States

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