EHR Incentive Program: 2014 Reporting Guide for Medicare Quality Programs (Historical)
Last Updated: September 17, 2024 (Historical Content)
Disclaimer: This article provides information specific to the 2014 program year for Medicare quality reporting. The content is now outdated. For current CMS quality reporting requirements and programs, please refer to the updated section below or official CMS resources.
Providers participating in the 2014 Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) program may be eligible to report their quality data one time only to earn credit for multiple Medicare quality reporting programs. Individual eligible professionals and group practices will be able to report once on a single set of clinical quality measures (CQMs) and satisfy some of the various requirements of several of the following programs, depending on eligibility:
• PQRS
• Value-Based Payment Modifier (VM)
• Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program
• Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organization (ACO)
• Pioneer ACO
• Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative (CPCI)
CMS aligned some of the reporting requirements for these programs starting in 2014 to reduce the burden of data collection. Those eligible professionals who choose to report once will reap several benefits:
• Earn the 2014 PQRS incentive and avoid the 2016 PQRS payment adjustment.
• Satisfy the CQM requirements of the Medicare EHR Incentive Program.
• Satisfy requirements for the 2016 VM, ACO, and/or CPCI, if eligible.
Note: aligned reporting options are only available to eligible professionals beyond their first year of participation in the Medicare EHR Incentive Program.
How to Report Once (2014 Guidance)
Individual eligible professionals and group practices needed to submit a full year (January 1 through December 31, 2014) of data to receive credit for the various programs. While the specific resources from 2014 are no longer active, in that year, providers utilized various tools and guides to understand how to report their quality data one time for applicable quality programs. These included guidance for:
- **PQRS participation and quality data submission.**
- **Satisfying quality reporting requirements for PQRS, the Medicare EHR Incentive Program, VM, and ACOs.**
- **Overviews of 2014 Clinical Quality Measures (CQMs) and options for reporting them to CMS.**
- **Utilizing the Submission Engine Validation Tool (SEVT) for 2014 Quality Reporting Document Architecture (QRDA) III submission via the QualityNet Portal.**
The Evolution of CMS Quality Reporting Programs: From EHR Incentives to MIPS
The landscape of Medicare quality reporting has significantly evolved since the 2014 EHR Incentive Program and Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS). These early initiatives laid the groundwork for today’s more comprehensive and unified programs aimed at value-based care.
The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) brought about sweeping changes, consolidating various programs into the **Quality Payment Program (QPP)**. The QPP offers two main tracks for eligible clinicians:
- **Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS):** MIPS streamlines aspects of PQRS, the Value-Based Payment Modifier (VM), and the Medicare EHR Incentive Program (for eligible professionals) into a single program. Clinicians earn a payment adjustment based on their performance across four categories: Quality, Improvement Activities, Promoting Interoperability (formerly Advancing Care Information), and Cost.
- **Advanced Alternative Payment Models (Advanced APMs):** This track encourages participation in innovative payment models that reward high-quality, high-value care.
For the most current information on MIPS, Advanced APMs, and all aspects of the Quality Payment Program, please visit the official CMS QPP website: qpp.cms.gov.
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