Significant changes are coming to the way physicians are reimbursed through the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). As part of a larger initiative to transition from fee-for-service towards value-based care, one of MACRA’s proposed payment programs, the merit-based incentive payment system (MIPS) will help providers focus on improving clinical outcomes by reducing administrative burdens. In the long run, this will offer more financial certainty and a greater potential for bonus payments. As a healthcare organization, there are action items you must take in order to receive credit for the high-quality care you’re providing.
Preparing for MACRA in 2016
In 2015, about 56% of physicians said they were unsure whether or not they were ready to participate in MACRA. Ready or not, the following are things you can start doing today to prepare for the newly proposed payment programs.
- Understand the impact: Review the proposed changes and explore their implications.
- Know yourself: There is no one-size-fits-all approach given that each and every provider is unique in their own way, so only you—alongside your administrative team—can complete an accurate self-assessment.
- Develop a success plan: Outline your strategy with target dates to keep you on track.
- Educate your team: Get in touch with providers and internal stakeholders to make sure everyone is on the same page.
What You Can Do Today
Start thinking about which payment track is most fitting for your practice. Unless you’re part of an accountable care organization (ACO), you will most likely begin with MIPS. You’ll need to review your Quality Resource and Use Report (QRUR) to get a baseline of where you can improve.
1. Meet Meaningful Use
If you aren’t already using an EHR or electronic health record system, now is the time. It should allow patients to access and exchange their information across the coordination of their care. Find a solution that enables you to connect with patients and will be easy to adopt.
2. Start Reporting
Determine which quality measures you plan to report on. Since this could differ based on specialty, you’ll want to carefully evaluate your strengths. If you’re part of a physician practice, decide whether you want to report as a group or as an individual.
3. Understand Resource Use
Once you dig into your data and evaluate your benchmarks, you’ll be able to understand how you’re spending your resources. Knowing which of your patient populations are keeping costs up is critical to developing a plan to improve care. Often, these groups include patients with chronic illness that require frequent visits and engagement. Strategize how your practice can deliver care more effectively to these patients.
4. Identify High-Performance Areas
Your practice is probably already performing well in some quality areas. Use this as an opportunity to get credit for the things you do best. Then you can develop a plan and fill in the gaps where you need to improve.
5. Evaluate Your Readiness for MACRA
Whether you follow a MACRA checklist or create your own success plan, gauge your progress and understand the timeline in order to set your practice up for success.
What You Need To Do in 2017
In January 2017, CMS (The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services) will begin collecting data to get a baseline for the rest of your performance metrics. You’ll receive your first feedback report in July of 2017, giving you a better idea of your current quality measures. It’s also a chance to quickly adjust any measures during Q3 and Q4.
In 2017, you should decide on your 90-day reporting period. Many factors can influence your choice such as the timing of major holidays or when providers will be on vacation. Choose a time that will provide the complete, most accurate picture of your practice. Your practice will also need to decide which Clinical Practice Improvement Activities to begin. Getting a jump-start on these can help your overall composite score, and improve the patient experience. Talk with your team about which activities will be the most impactful and cost-effective to facilitate and make both short-term and long-term plans.
Make sure it’s meaningful: it won’t be enough just to meet meaningful use. Your EHR technology will be evaluated for efficacy by CMS and will want to know it’s adding value to the patient experience, not just checking off a box. The following are things to look for when evaluating an EHR:
- Make sure it is secure
- Make sure patients are actually using it
- Make sure patients are using it to access health information and receive secure messages
Thinking About 2018
By 2018, the CMS’s goal is to have 90% of Medicare payments shifted to quality or value-based care. When you receive your second feedback report in July of 2018, you can compare your progress and understand where you can improve. From creating improvement action plans you’re positioning yourself to maximize payments.
Understanding how all practice operations work together is great if you can easily synthesize all the data and see trends. That’s where CareSkore comes in, giving healthcare providers the ability to:
- Get a 360-degree view on patients and patient populations by accurately assessing both patient risks and needs, and improve outcomes.
- Coordinate and manage the most appropriate and timely care through personalized follow-up with high-risk patients and understanding data that will improve quality measures.
- Improve patient engagement by connecting with patients even after they have left the premises to reduce both no-shows and cancellation rates.
These simple, yet impactful tactics can enhance the patient experience, improve outcomes and reduce administrative and operational challenges that keep your practice from providing the best possible care to every single patient—which is ultimately what MACRA will be evaluating.
Sources
- Taking Risk: Where Healthcare Financing is Going and How to Get There
- MACRA Checklist: The Shift to Value-based Payment
- CMS MACRA Timeline
- Quality and Resource Use Reports
- The 7 Best Ways to Prepare for MACRA Today
- MACRA Checklist: Steps You Can Take Now to Prepare
- 10 Facts About the Merit-based Incentive Payment System