by Wyn Staheli, Director of Content - innoviHealth
Dec 18th, 2018
CMS recently announced that the quality measures for 2019 have been finalized. There are new eligible clinicians so be aware of how that may affect your organization. New ECs are:
- Physical therapists
- Occupational therapists
- Qualified speech-language pathologists
- Qualified audiologists
- Clinical psychologists
- Registered dietitian or nutrition professionals
The following are changes to Electronic Clinical Quality Measures (eCQMs) available for eligible professionals and eligible clinicians for 2019 reporting:
New eCQMs
CMS eCQM ID
Measure Type
Measure Title and Description CMS249v1 Process
Appropriate Use of DXA Scans in Women Under 65 Years Who Do Not Meet the Risk Factor Profile for Osteoporotic Fracture: Percentage of female patients aged 50 to 64 without select risk factors for osteoporotic fracture who received an order for a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan during the measurement period.
CMS349v1 Process
HIV Screening: Percentage of patients 15-65 years of age who have ever been tested for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Deleted eCQMs
- CMS65v8: Hypertension: Improvement in Blood Pressure
- CMS123v7: Comprehensive Diabetes Care: Foot Exam
- CMS158v7: Pregnant women that had HBsAg testing
- CMS164v7: Ischemic Vascular Disease (IVD): Use of Aspirin or Another Antiplatelet
- CMS167v7: Diabetic Retinopathy: Documentation of Presence or Absence of Macular Edema and Level of Severity of Retinopathy
- CMS169v7: Bipolar Disorder and Major Depression: Appraisal for alcohol or chemical substance use
As of today, the new measures are not found on the CMS website, but will be posted at https://qpp.cms.gov/mips/explore-measures/quality-measures sometime later this year.
References/Resources
About Wyn Staheli, Director of Content - innoviHealth
Wyn Staheli is the Director of Content Research for innovHealth. She has over 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry. With her degree in Management Information Systems (MIS), she has been a programmer for a large insurance carrier as well as a California hospital system. She is also the author and editor of many medical resource books and the founder of InstaCode Institute.