June 24, 2009
2009 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) Program Reminder
It is not too late to start participating in the 2009 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) and potentially qualify to receive incentive payments. A new half-year reporting period begins on July 1.
If you have not yet started, you can begin by reporting either:
- Three individual 2009 PQRI measures for at least 80% of applicable Medicare Part B FFS patients seen between July 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009 through a qualified 2009 PQRI registry. To qualify for a half-year incentive (some registries may allow an eligible professional to submit data to them from the start of 2009 thus being able to report for the entire year); or
- A measures group through claims or a qualified 2009 PQRI registry;
depending on the sample method selected for a measures group, you could
qualify for:
- A half-year incentive by reporting the measures group on 80% of applicable Medicare Part B FFS patients seen between July 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009 or
- A full-year incentive by reporting the measures group on 30-consecutive patients. A list of qualified registries for the 2009 PQRI can be found on the CMS PQRI "Reporting" section page at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI on the CMS website.
- Eligible professionals do not need to sign-up or pre-register to participate in the 2009 PQRI. Submission of quality data codes for individual PQRI measures to CMS through a qualified registry or for a measures group through claims or a qualified registry will indicate intent to participate.
- Although there is no requirement to register prior to submitting the data, there are some preparatory steps that professionals should take prior to undertaking PQRI reporting. CMS has created a tip sheet titled, "Satisfactorily Reporting 2009 PQRI Measures," that provides information about how to get started with PQRI reporting. To access this tip sheet and all available educational resources on the 2009 PQRI please visit, http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI/ on the CMS website.
- Eligible professionals are encouraged to visit the PQRI webpage often for the latest information and downloads on PQRI.
