Physician & Practice Timeline®

Payment adjustments for Medicare eligible professionals (EPs) that did not meet meaningful use in 2016 will be applied beginning on January 1, 2018. EPs can submit a 2018 hardship exception applications electronically or postmarked no later than 11:59 pm on July 1, 2017. The hardship exception applications and instruction documents for EPs are available on the EHR Incentive Programs website, and outline the specific types of circumstances that CMS considers to be barriers to achieving meaningful use.

CMS is offering physicians the opportunity – and $150-200 – to provide feedback on CMS’ efforts to include a streamlined system for administrative staff to manage information for providers and practices on their Quality Payment Program (QPP) website. CMS is looking for physicians or other clinicians who look at Medicare feedback reports as well as administrative staff and office managers who interact with Medicare systems and complete tasks related to Medicare quality data submission. In order to participate, CMS requires that professionals: Be part of a practice with 15 or fewer physicians/health care clinicians; Work for a practice that intends to participate in the Quality Payment Program for 2017; Be familiar with Medicare feedback reports (previously known as QRURs) or plan to review Quality Payment Program feedback.

The feedback sessions will last one hour and will take place either by phone or online meeting platform. Those interested in participating should email Partnership@cms.hhs.gov with the subject line "Participation for QPP Feedback Report Research." A representative from CommunicateHealth (an authorized contractor working for CMS) will follow up.

Groups participating in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) track of the Quality Payment Program that intend to utilize the CMS Web Interface and/or administer the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) for MIPS survey are required to register. The registration period is from April 1, 2017 through June 30, 2017. More information is available on the Quality Payment Program website.