Eligible Professionals (EPs) must meet Meaningful Use and Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) requirements to avoid Medicare and Medicaid payment penalties.
PQRS penalties
- EPs who did not report or participate by submitting quality data in 2013 receive a 1.5% PQRS payment reduction through Medicare and Medicaid in 2015.
- Failure to satisfactorily report or participate by submitting quality data in 2014 in any subsequent year will result in a 2% reduction in Medicare and Medicaid payments in 2016 and in every subsequent year.
- Additional federal penalties for providers who do not successfully attest for Meaningful Use.
Avoiding PQRS penalties
- EPs who satisfactorily participate in 2014 PQRS will avoid a 2016 PQRS payment adjustment and earn an incentive payment.
- EPs can earn incentive of 0.5% for successful reporting of 2014 data.
- EPs must report on 9 measures by Feb. 28, 2015 to avoid any penalties in 2016 and earn the 2014 incentive.
- EPs need to submit 12 months of data from 2014 to earn credit.
How to submit
- Select measures (at least one of the following should be included):
0069 Appropriate Treatment for Children with Upper Respiratory Infection
0419 Documentation of Current Medications in the Medical Record
0421 Preventive Care and Screening: BMI Screening and Follow-Up
- Practice Velocity customers can generate PQRS reports in VelociDoc EMR.
- Although PQRS is part of Meaningful Use, you must submit the data to avoid the PQRS penalty and submit on the designated site.
Visit the following sites for additional information and resources:
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Payment Adjustment Information
American Medical Association 2015 PQRS Information
CMS EHR Reporting Made Simple
CMS QualityNet Reporting Portal
PQRS Video Provided by CMS
