This content is excerpted from EyeNet’s MIPS 2023: A Primer and Reference; also see the Academy’s MIPS hub page.
Here’s how you can maximize your quality score.
Report at least one outcome measure. A measure that is listed as an intermediate outcome measure or a patient-reported outcome measure would count for this purpose.
If no outcome measure is available, you must report another high-priority measure instead. Alternative high-priority quality measures include appropriate use, care coordination, efficiency, health equity, patient experience, patient safety, and opioid-related measures.
Report at least six quality measures (including the one mentioned above). Your quality score will be based on your achievement points for up to six quality measures, plus your quality improvement percent score.
What if you report on more than six quality measures? If you report on seven or more measures, CMS will determine which six of those measures will give you the highest number of measure achievement points based on your performance rates, with the caveat that one of them must be an outcome measure.
Tip: When selecting your measures, look for measures where you are most likely to 1) satisfy the case minimum of 20 patients, 2) satisfy the 70%–data completeness criteria, and 3) achieve a high performance rate. Also be mindful of measures that have scoring limitations—such as score-stalling or a 7-point cap—or that don’t yet have a benchmark.
If you report manually via the IRIS Registry, you need additional data on patient counts. When you report a quality measure manually via a Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR), such as the IRIS Registry, you must include 1) the number of patients eligible for that measure and 2) for measures that include exceptions, the number of patients for whom the exception applies.
Report more than six quality measures to give yourself a margin of error. In case you run into a problem with one of your quality measures, you can hedge your bets by reporting more than six of them. Suppose, for example, you are reporting a measure that doesn’t yet have a benchmark. Once the performance year is over, CMS will attempt to calculate a benchmark for that measure. But if it doesn’t have enough data to create a reliable benchmark, your scoring for that measure will be limited (see "What If There Is No Benchmark?").
Understand the measure specifications: Familiarize yourself with the measures that you expect to be scored on and make sure that you are performing and documenting them in line with their current specifications. If you report via the IRIS Registry, you can access detailed measure specifications via your dashboard. You also will be able to download these PDFs from the 2023 Clinical Quality Measure Specification and Benchmark Table [in development].
Ask the practice’s clinicians to review their performance. If you are reporting via the IRIS Registry, give each care provider their IRIS Registry report so they can see their performance across the quality measures.
What is the HWR measure? As an ophthalmologist, it is very unlikely that you will be scored on quality measure 479: Hospital-Wide, 30-Day, All-Cause Unplanned Readmission (HWR) Rate for MIPS. You would need to have a high volume of unplanned readmissions to a hospital within 30 days of an initial discharge. This measure only applies to large groups (16 or more eligible clinicians) that meet the case minimum requirement of 200 cases involving patients aged 65 or older. Practices don't report this measure; they are evaluated based on Medicare administrative claims data.
Previous: Quality: Pick Your Collection Type(s)
Next: Quality: Meet the Data Submission Thresholds
DISCLAIMER AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: All information provided by the American Academy of Ophthalmology, its employees, agents, or representatives participating in the Academy’s efforts to explain regulatory and reimbursement issues is as current and reliable as reasonably possible. The Academy does not provide legal or accounting services or advice. You should seek legal and/or accounting advice if appropriate to your situation.
Meeting regulatory requirements is a complicated process involving continually changing rules and the application of judgment to factual situations. The Academy does not guarantee or warrant that either public or private payers will agree with the Academy’s information or recommendations.
The Academy shall not be liable to you or any other party to any extent whatsoever for errors in, or omissions from any such information provided by the Academy, its employees, agents, or representatives.
COPYRIGHT© 2023, American Academy of Ophthalmology, Inc.® All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. American Academy of Ophthalmology ®, American Academy of Ophthalmic Executives®, IRIS®, the Focus logo, and Protecting Sight. Empowering Lives ®, among other marks, are trademarks of the American Academy of Ophthalmology®.
All of the American Academy of Ophthalmology-developed quality measures are copyrighted by the AAO’s H. Dunbar Hoskins Jr., MD, Center for Quality Eye Care (see terms of use).