CMS names iPatientCare as a qualified PQRS registry

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has selected iPatientCare, a Woodbridge, N.J.-based medical informatics company, as a Qualified Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) registry that is authorized to assist eligible providers with reporting quality data directly to CMS.

PQRS currently is a voluntary quality reporting program established by CMS, but beginning in 2016, CMS will apply a 2 percent penalty to eligible professionals (EPs) who do not satisfactorily report data on quality measures for covered services. Submission of quality data is tied to future pay-for-performance outcomes through the value-based payment modifier program, which allocates a payment differential to EPs under the Medicare Part B Physician Fee Schedule.

“Healthcare providers will have the opportunity to use the data gathered as part of PQRS. The measures selected are based on clinical guidelines and provide evidence-based guidelines for improvements in care,” said Kedar Mehta, chief technology officer at iPatientCare, in a statement.