APMA News - February 2012 - (Page 32)

IT Consultant By Joseph Borreggine, DPM PQRS and eRx as They Relate to IACS Reporting If you want to receive PQRS and eRx incentives, it’s imperative to follow all the necessary guidelines set forth by CMS and carefully review your activity reports. Access to reports for each individual physician on his or her activities with regard to the incentive programs is available through the CMS Identity Management and Authentication System (IACS). IACS implements the security requirements of federal legislation, federal standards, and CMS policy. An IACS account is required to access Tax Identification Number-level feedback reports. A medical practice must establish a user name and password for an “end user” and a “security official” in order to obtain quarterly and annual reports on PQRS and eRx incentive qualification. The end user must not be the security official. The end user should be a trusted staff member in the physician’s office who has been given permission by the security official to view this information. As a podiatrist and owner of my practice, I chose to make myself the security official. You may choose someone other than yourself to be the security official, but the person who takes on this role should be a trusted member of your staff. It was a fairly straightforward process to set myself up as the security official. I followed all the necessary steps and answered all the questions and eventually received my user ID and password. After receiving this information, I was able to log into IACS and set up the end user for my office to receive the PQRS and eRx incentive reports. I then received an e-mail to approve the end user I chose. Once the approval process is complete, IACS sends a user ID and password to the end user. The ID and password are the ones your office will use to check the reports. The security official’s user ID and password are only to be used for IACS file maintenance and to change the end user as needed. Further information about the IACS application can be obtained at https://www.qualitynet.org/imageserver/pqri/doc uments/PUG_PQRI_eRxSubmissionUserGuide.pdf. More information is available in the IACS Quick Reference User Guides at www.qualitynet.org/pqri. The QualityNet Help Desk is available to assist eligible professionals with: general IACS questions; registering and creating an IACS account; accessing an IACS account; changing an IACS account; and approving users. Alternative to IACS You may also receive feedback reports on PQRS and eRx without registering with IACS. You may submit a request for reports at https://www.qualitynet.org/portal/server.pt/ community/communications_support_system/234. The reports generally are available around the time that the incentive payments are made for the particular program (usually in the third quarter of the year after the program). Although you do not have to go through the IACS process, you will have to wait for CMS to send your feedback reports rather than receiving instant access to the data through an IACS account. In 2012, CMS intends to provide interim feedback reports on the reporting of quality data, as indicated in the final rule for the 2012 programs: We are ﬁnalizing our proposal to provide interim feedback reports for eligible professionals reporting individual measures and measures groups through the claims-based reporting mechanism for 2012 and beyond. These reports will be a simpliﬁed version of annual feedback reports that we currently provide for such eligible professionals and will be based on claims for dates of service occurring on or after January 1 and processed by March 31 of the respective program year (that is, January 1, 2012 and processed by March 31, 2012 for the 2012 program year). We expect that we would be able to make these interim feedback reports available to eligible professionals in the summer of the respective program year (that is, summer 2012 for the 2012 program year). So in the summer of 2012 you likely will be able to get a feedback report on quality measures submitted during the first three months of 2012. This information should help you evaluate whether you are reporting the quality measures correctly. In 2012, CMS requires practitioners to fulfill three measures, reporting on 50 percent of eligible patients for each measure, so you will be able to make adjustments based on feedback from the first three months of reporting. For more information on PQRS and eRx, watch APMA’s webinars on these incentive programs at www.apma.org/ webinars. n • • • • • The help desk is available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST Monday through Friday at 866-288-8912 or TTY 877-715-6222 or via e-mail at qnetsupport@sdps.org. 32 APMA News February 2012 Contact us with questions about IT Consultant at jrchristina@apma.org. http://www.qualitynet.org/portal/server.pt/community/communications_support_system/234 http://www.qualitynet.org/portal/server.pt/community/communications_support_system/234 http://www.qualitynet.org/imageserver/pqri/documents/PUG_PQRI_eRxSubissionUserGuide.pdf http://www.qualitynet.org/imageserver/pqri/documents/PUG_PQRI_eRxSubissionUserGuide.pdf http://www.qualitynet.org/pqri http://www.apma.org/Education/content.cfm?ItemNumber=1101&navItemNumber=567 http://www.apma.org/Education/content.cfm?ItemNumber=1101&navItemNumber=567

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of APMA News - February 2012

APMA News - February 2012
President’s Message
Contents
APMA Social Media: 2011 Success and 2012 Stategy
The National in 2012: Celebrating 100 Years Advancing Podiatric Medicine
APMA By the Decade: 1922–1931
Profiles in Progress: Student Recruitment
2011 Podiatric Practice Survey: Sources for Patient Referrals
Confronting the Residency Shortage
Reimbursement
Federal Advocacy Forum
APMAPAC Chair Report
IT Consultant
Website Wisdom
Technofile
Young Voices
Small Business 101
APMA All Stars
Awards Nominations
In Short
Worthy of Note
Resolutions Submissions
Affiliates Corner
List of Affiliated Organizations
Insurance Advisor
New Members
Death Notices
Annual Scientifi c Meeting Registration Form
Annual Scientific Meeting Sponsors
APMAPAC Update
Development Update
Classified Advertising
Dates to Remember
Advertising Index
10 Questions

APMA News - February 2012