Optimizing Your EHR for MIPS and Other Quality Payment Programs – MACRA Monday

The following is a guest blog post by Meena Ande currently acts as Director of Implementation for Advantum Health. This post is part of the MACRA Monday series of blog posts where we dive into the details of the MACRA Quality Payment Program (QPP) and related topics.

As quality reporting requirements ramp up under value-based payment programs like MIPS, healthcare organizations are busy retrofitting their EHRs to make way for new measures. In some settings, not much has changed by way of tech utilization since initial EHR investments were made. Many outpatient settings still lack the internal expertise needed to optimize their implementations.

The truth is many EHRs have the functionality providers need for quality reporting, but many providers don’t know that due to limited exposure to the system. Couple that stunted tech knowledge with the well documented lack of familiarity with MACRA and the recent rise of the service model in healthcare is no surprise. Many practice administrators are relying on their EHR vendor or engaging outside experts to help lead the charge on system reconfiguration to meet Quality Payment Program demands.

There are several EMR capabilities providers can take advantage of to support QPP reporting efforts. Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you customize your EHR for MIPS and other value-based models.

Don’t boil the ocean when selecting CQMs.

Most EHRs give the option of tracking more than what is required for quality reporting. Initially, track applicable measures that exceed reporting requirements. After three to four weeks you’ll know which are your strong areas. Pick the best of the litter and proceed.

Providers can be overwhelmed by too many measures, particularly in multi-specialty practice settings. While it can be difficult to find overlap in measures between specialties, taking advantage of shared metrics whenever possible can reduce reporting burdens. Sit down as early as possible and develop an EHR configuration that works for your practice’s various clinicians.

Case in Point:

A gastroenterologist and a cardiologist may work in the same multi-specialty organization and on the same EHR, but the clinical quality measures they care about differ. There is no reason to give the gastroenterologist access to the cardiology problem list in the EHR. Specialty views improve ease-of-use and support more complete documentation.

Most EHRs offer role-based and specialty-based customization. Administrators can enable or disable EHR features related to some quality measures at the practice level and sometimes at the individual provider level. Clinical quality measures are based on details about the patient, but what is captured at each point of care should be tailored to the specific provider role.

Consider the roles impacted by different CQMs.

Keep the role of the person who may be responsible for different quality measures and Advancing Care Information workflows in mind when selecting and carving out space for CQMs in your EHR. Select measures that spread reporting work across multiple roles to relieve clinicians of unnecessary burdens.         

Case in Point:

The insurance eligibility verification required under Meaningful Use is managed by the front office. Front-office staff members should be made aware of the processes they need to complete before a patient checks in, and where to document that task in the EHR.

Control what is included in MIPS denominators.

Like Meaningful Use, patient encounter volume is important under MIPS. The size of the patient pool under any given quality measure directly impacts your adherence percentage. While most primary care encounters do meet patient visit requirements under MACRA, that is not always the case in specialty settings. Clinicians can exercise some control in determining what is included in patient denominators when reporting under MIPS.

Case in point:

Some primary care visits can be omitted. Let’s say a two-physician practice sees 50 patients a day. Only 15 of those patients might be seen by a physician. The rest of the patients may be there for a simple procedure like a blood pressure screening, stress test, or echocardiogram, where quality reporting elements are not verified. Such visits should be excluded.

Evaluate your reporting paths.

MIPS offers both EHR-based and registry-based reporting paths. Most specialties can submit CQM data via their EHR while others will have to rely on paid registry reporting. Additional reporting options might include submitting through associations that member clinicians are affiliated with, or through registries created by large hospital affiliates to help related providers.

Another hurdle for clinicians is deciding whether to submit data as a group or independently. Groups interested in participating in MIPS via the CMS web interface or administering the CAHPS for MIPS survey had until June 30, 2017, to register. Beyond that, clinicians have until the March 31, 2018, MIPS submission deadline to decide whether to report independently or as a group.

Case in point:

Big groups with different levels of EHR proficiency among providers may be better suited reporting at an individual level. Individual reporting takes more time for attestation, but the advantage is that higher-performing clinicians can avoid a penalty if the group doesn’t collectively meet reporting criteria.

Each month, sample 10 percent of EHR CQM data, including instances where criteria have been met and where it has not. Catch outliers with trouble following through on processes and extend targeted training to the team members bringing numbers down.

Conclusion

Optimizing the EHR and other tech resources providers have in place can be a huge MIPS enablement factor. Up-front customization work helps providers meet reporting requirements and save time over the long run. EHR optimization also enables future value-based care initiatives and lays the groundwork for population health management programs. Gains made in EHR use benefit the life of the practice through increased efficiency and, at the end of the day, better patient care.

About Meena Ande
Meena Ande currently acts as Director of Implementation for Advantum Health where she manages Implementation of services along with EHR optimization, with emphasis on workflow management for value-based reporting.

   

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