The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) last week unveiled the 119 performance measures that will be used in its 2008 pay-for-performance program, the Physicians Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI).

PQRI is a voluntary reporting program that encourages quality improvement through the use of clinical performance measures. It establishes financial incentives for physicians who participate in this voluntary program. The new measures apply to claims with dates of service from January 1 to December 31, 2008. The 2008 bonus payment is yet to be determined, but will likely be between 1.5 and 2.0 percent of total allowed charges for covered Medicare physician services.

Detailed specifications for the 2008 PQRI measures will be posted on the CMS PQRI website on or before December 31.

CMS will also begin testing registry-based submission of quality data in 2008 and is currently assessing the feasibility and utility of accepting clinical quality data submitted from electronic health records.

Don’t forget, claims for the 2007 reporting period (claims with dates of service of July 1 to December 31, 2007) must be received on or before February 29, 2008, to be included in the 2007 bonus payment calculation.

CMS is hosting a conference call for providers to discuss the 2008 quality reporting program. The call is 12 p.m. - 2 p.m., Pacific time, on Wednesday, November 28.

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