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  • MIPS Manual 2017—Know the Basics: Use the IRIS Registry

    By Rebecca Hancock, Flora Lum, MD, Chris McDonagh, Cherie McNett, Molly Peltzman, Jessica Peterson, MD, MPH, and Sue Vicchrilli, COT, OCS
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    This content was excerpted from EyeNet’s MIPS Manual 2017.

    As with PQRS, the Academy IRIS Registry (aao.org/iris-registry) will provide 2 platforms to help you tackle MIPS—one requires EHRs (integrating your EHR system with a clinical data registry) and the other doesn’t (manual data entry via a web portal). In ophthalmology, the IRIS Registry is the MIPS tool of choice. Here’s why:

    • If you use the web portal, you will gain access to additional ophthalmology-specific measures. The Academy developed the so-called non-MIPS measures specifically for ophthalmology (see “MIPS Versus Non-MIPS [QCDR] Measures” and download an at-a-glance chart of the non-MIPS measures [PDF]).
    • If you use EHR integration, use the dashboard to monitor performance. The IRIS Registry dashboard can act as an early warning system, alerting you to problems with your quality reporting while you still have time to take corrective action.
    • Reduce your reporting burden. Compared with other reporting options, the IRIS Registry involves less labor and—thanks to its dashboard—less uncertainty.
    • Rely on a reporting mechanism that is focused exclusively on ophthalmology. The Academy developed the IRIS Registry as part of its mission to support ophthalmologists and their patients.
    • Registries will play an increasingly important role in MIPS. The IRIS Registry will play an even more prominent role than under earlier CMS reporting programs, particularly in the improvement activities performance category.

    CMS approves registries for MIPS reporting annually. This year, CMS published its list of approved Qualified Clinical Data Registries on May 25. CMS hopes to issue these approvals much earlier next year. (The IRIS Registry appears on the CMS’ list of approved Qualified Clinical Data Registries, not the list of Qualified Registries.)

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    Next: Know the Basics: The Pros and Cons of Group Reporting

    Note: 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 regulators and 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© 2017, 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 Ophthalmic Executives® and IRIS® Registry are trademarks of the American Academy of Ophthalmology®.