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Welcome to the *NetHealth Quality Dashboard, your monthly update on issues and events in the world of clinical improvement and CME. Each month we bring you updates and analysis from the field chosen to help you succeed* with Continuous Clinical Improvement (CCI). Feel free to pass along the *NetHealth Quality Dashboard* to your colleagues and to let us know about issues in the field that you need to know more about. Sincerely, Lauren Patrick, MS President, NetHealth LLC In this issue: Evidence shows PQRS Registries make a HUGE difference Using Virtual Patients found to increase CME effectiveness Assessment data reveals gaps and effectiveness PQRS MOC Incentive - Even more reason to participate in MOC Part IV
Evidence shows PQRS Registries make a HUGE difference UPDATE: CMS Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) Results from the 2009 PQRI submissions compiled by CMS show that: 90 percent of individual measure registry reporters, and 95 percent of measure group reporters received incentive payment, while, of those using 'claims based' reporting, only 50 percent submitting individual measures and 17 percent of measure group participants received incentive payments.1 Effective in January 2011, CMS renamed Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI), the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS). This registry system continues to expand with new quality measures coming online yearly. 2011 specifics: the 2011 reporting year provides 1% incentive payments on all Medicare Part B patient encounters and participants have the option to select from 194 quality measures and 14 measures groups 2011 measures groups are listed here. Fifty-six of the measures in 2011 are deemed 'Registry-only' reporting. Here's what this means to you and your constituents: As CMS continues to refine the System, more measures are designated as 'Registry-only,' eligible professionals can only report data through CMS-qualified registries. In nearly 4 years as a CMS qualified registry, NetHealth has worked with partnering organizations to implement and refine tailored data capture, streamlined to simplify the registry reporting. Our CCI Assayer Registry^RS system is customized to any single measure or set of measures and elegantly deployed, with successful results and receipt of performance reporting incentives. PQRS MOC Incentive - Even more reason to participate in MOC Part IV Bringing more value to participants in MOC Part IV programs with additional CMS incentive benefits will increase participation and effectiveness of MOC programs. As of January 2011, physicians who are incentive-eligible for the Physician Quality Reporting System can receive an extra 0.5% payment on all Medicare Part B patients when Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Program Incentive requirements are also met. Learn more NetHealth offers webinar training for those interested in implementation of online performance improvement programs. Contact us for further information.	Using Virtual Patients found to increase CME effectiveness The use of Virtual Patients in continuing medical education is increasingly recognized as an effective, learner-centric means for deploying CME, rooted in evidence-based practice.2 The two keys to the success of Virtual Patient use, however, are the quality of their authenticity and implementation. The NetHealth CCI Assayer VP platform enables organizations to develop virtual patient scenarios that meet CME requirements and provide a professional, interactive experience with advanced retention3 and clinical application. These sophisticated virtual patient scenarios offer instantaneous feedback for users and provide outcomes reporting to the organization that is critical to timely and accurate assessment of gaps. Using VP scenarios is enabling NetHealth clients to plan ahead for future initiatives that are keyed to critical performance goals. Assessment data reveals gaps and effectiveness Back end analysis of data gathered as a result of new assessment requirements from the AMA can generate valuable insights into both educational needs assessment and program effectiveness. With the American Medical Association (AMA) announcing a modification in its Physician's Recognition Award (PRA) credit system effective July 1, 2011, more advanced learner data will be available, which can be used to power more thorough educational data analyses. According to AMA, enduring materials released after July 1, 2011 must "provide an assessment of the learner that measures achievement of the educational purpose and/or objective(s) of the activity with an established minimum performance level...". Get a handle. Get ahead. Get in touch! Organizations involved in CME will be capturing more extensive outcome data. NetHealth assists with advanced data analyses, outcome reports, needs assessments, and innovative data mining that supports, and empowers, you to succeed with each facet of Continuous Clinical Improvement (CCI). Contact Us We look forward to partnering with you! Please visit our website and contact us today to explore the possibilities: http://www.nethealthinc.com * NetHealth is an approved registry of the CMS Physician's Quality Reporting System (PQRS), offering an opportunity to combine PI-CME with a CMS/PQRS reporting bonus of 1% of all annual Medicare patient charges.
¹Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (2011). 2009 Reporting Experience. Released April 4, 2011 ²Tworek et al (2010). Virtual Patients: ED-2 Band-Aid or Valuable Asset in the Learning Portfolio? Academic Medicine: January 2010, Vol. 85, Issue 1, pp.155-158 doi: 10.1097/ACM.0b013e3181c4f8bf ³Botezatu, et al (2010). Virtual patient simulation. Medical Teacher, Vol. 32, No. 7, pp. 562-568 doi:10.3109/01421590903514630
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