Part B Insider (Multispecialty) Coding Alert

Goodbye Meaningful Use, Hello Advancing Care Information

Published on Mon May 09, 2016

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This new MIPS initiative offers more options and assistance for participating practitioners.

In an effort to simplify the Electronic Health Record (EHR) system, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) explained in a notice of proposed rulemaking on April 27, 2016 that they plan to replace the current incentive plan, Meaningful Use, with a new program titled Advancing Care Information.

“In our extensive sessions and workshops with stakeholders, a near-universal vision of health information technology surfaced: Physicians, patients, and other clinicians collaborating on patient care by sharing and building on relevant information,” stated Andy Slavitt, CMS acting administrator and Karen DeSalvo, MD, National Coordinator, Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT in last week’s CMS blog post.

Under this MACRA implementation, MIPS aims to utilize the Advancing Care Information performance plan to “simplify requirements, support patient care, and be flexible to meet the needs of physician practices. The proposal emphasizes measures that support improved patient engagement and connectivity and reduces reporting burden.”

Here’s what’s changing: There are key differences in the new program that move away from the complicated, “one-size-fits-all” policies of Meaningful Use. In a nutshell, Advancing Care Information boosts interoperability between systems, making it easier to exchange information and can be adjusted and tailored to each clinician’s needs. The streamlined system also coordinates the various Medicare reporting programs so “quality measures reporting” is no longer necessary.

Physicians using “certified EHR technology” and reporting a “customizable set of measures that reflects” the practice’s use of the innovations in daily operations would account for 25 percent of the MIPS score upfront. The Advancing Care Information score is comprised of a base, performance, and a possible bonus point that add up to the final composite score.

If mandated, the initial performance period for Advancing Care Information is scheduled to run from January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017.

Resource: For a detailed look at MIPS’s Advancing Care Information initiative, visit www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/Value-Based-Programs/MACRA-MIPS-and-APMs/Advancing-Care-Information-Fact-Sheet.pdf.