The second year of the Quality Payment Program (QPP), established by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), began on January 1, 2018. This year, oncology practices face more robust quality reporting requirements to successfully participate in QPP and avoid a financial penalty in 2020.
ASCO has prepared a “Top 10 List for Quality Payment Program Participation in 2018.” The list offers step-by-step guidance for successfully navigating 2018 program requirements, which require practices to do full reporting on 60% of eligible charts for at least six quality measures, vs the minimal “one patient, one measure, no penalties” threshold in 2017.
Specific 2018 recommendations from ASCO’s top 10 list include:
- Documentation is important: Evaluate your current documentation processes to ensure that you can collect the data you need.
- Make QOPI work for you: Identify which QPP quality measures best fit your practice, then consider using a qualified registry (QR) or qualified clinical data registry (QCDR) to extract and submit your quality data.
- Know how you are performing: Get your 2017 MIPS Performance Feedback Report starting July 1, 2018. The cost category is not included in 2017 MIPS scoring, but it will be included in 2017 performance reports to prepare practices for 2018, when cost is included in MIPS scoring.
- Prepare your practice and staff for value-based care: Is your practice fully prepared for the shift to value-based care? ASCO Consulting Services & Support can help practices make the transition.
In addition to the top 10 list, ASCO has developed a range of tools and educational materials to help the oncology community prepare for the changes ahead, including webinar recordings and slides from the MACRA education series.
ASCO will continue to update its online QPP toolkit throughout the implementation process. Stay tuned to ASCO in Action by visiting asco.org/ascoaction and bookmark asco.org/MACRA for the latest news and updates. ■
© 2018. American Society of Clinical Oncology. All rights reserved.
