"Measures Management and You" is a monthly bulletin about quality measurement resources and opportunities. Subscribe to receive email updates from MMS. 

What’s New with the Measures Management System (MMS)

Register for MMS Information Session: Understanding measurement terminology is essential when developing clear, detailed, and precise technical specifications. Join us at 2 p.m. ET, Wednesday, January 25, for the MMS Information Session, “What’s in a Name? Terminology & Current Linguistic Trends in Measure Specification,” where we will review measurement terms such as those reported by patients, exceptions and exclusions, and digital quality measures. Register today!

Register for Health Equity Presentation: CMS is pleased to invite the public to attend the upcoming webinar: “From Data to Action: How CMS and its Stakeholders Are Addressing Inequities in Healthcare.” Join us for a discussion of the CMS Health Equity Framework and how key stakeholders are leveraging changes in data science and quality measurement to drive progress toward more equitable care for all.

• Tuesday, February 28, 2023, from 3 – 4 p.m. (ET) (Register here)
• Wednesday, March 8, 2023, from 12 – 1 p.m. (ET) (Register here)

Research Resources Available: The De Novo Measure Scan (DNMS) compiles content from PubMed, PubMed Central, and CINAHL into one search process and allows measure developers to conduct early and frequent environmental scans while developing new measures. You can select terms related to concepts such as target population, health outcomes, and care settings to build a new measure description. When you login to the DNMS, you will have access to the DNMS QuickStart Guide and a tutorial video.

Submit Candidate Measures for the MUC list: The CMS Measures Under Consideration Entry/Review Information Tool (CMS MERIT) will open January 30! Section 3014 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act establishes the CMS Pre-Rulemaking process for the selection of measures for adoption in U.S. Department of Health & Human Services programs. CMS invites the submission of candidate measures from measure developers/stewards. The Pre-Rulemaking process helps to support CMS’s goals to fill critical gaps in quality measurement and consider multi-stakeholder input on measure selection. CMS MERIT will remain open to accept measure submissions until 8 p.m. ET, Friday, May 19. Visit the MMS Hub Pre-Rulemaking page to stay up-to-date on all things pre-rulemaking!

In Case You Missed It: Check out what’s new in quality measurement with these recent MMS presentations:

• November MMS Information Session, “Measure Lifecycle Overview”
• December MMS Information Session, “Measure Conceptualization: From Ideas to Action”

Announcements: Stay Up to Date

Data Submissions Now Open for the Quality Payment Program (QPP): QPP’s 2022 data submission is now open for CMS Web Interface users. Learn more on the QPP website.

2023 QPP Final Rule Resources Available: Prepare for the new year by reviewing the 2023 QPP Final Rule Resources in the QPP Resource Library. Download these resources here.  

CMS Releases Report on Rural Health: CMS recently released the CMS Framework for Advancing Health Care in Rural, Tribal, and Geographically Isolated communities to better focus on health equity across all communities. View the framework here.

CMS Releases Report on Data and Health Equity: Collecting data is imperative to achieving health equity. The Path Forward: Improving Data to Advance Health Equity Solutions outlines how CMS uses data to close gaps in equitable care. Read the report here.

Get Involved: Upcoming Events

Attend CMS Quality Reporting Webinar: Join CMS at 2 p.m. ET January 18 for Laying the Foundation to Transform Quality Reporting. Program Leads for CMS’s Hospital Outpatient Quality Report and Rural Emergency Hospital Quality Reporting programs will present the Calendar Year 2023 Final Rule. Public reporting and the January refresh, program measures, and data submission deadlines will also be covered. Register here.

Attend Expert to Expert Webinar: Join The Joint Commission, CMS, and Mathematica for an Expert to Expert webinar at 12 p.m. ET January 24 on the Hyper- and Hypo-Glycemia electronic Clinical Quality Measures (eCQMs) Annual Updates for 2023 eCQM implementation. Common questions will be addressed. Continuing education credits are available for the live webinar. Register here.

Stakeholder Engagement Opportunities

Public Comment, Technical Expert Panels (TEP), and Federal Register Rule Comment

Federal Register Rule Comment Opportunity: Medicare Program; Contract Year 2024 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage Program, Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program, Medicare Cost Plan Program, Medicare Parts A, B, C, and D Overpayment Provisions of the Affordable Care Act and Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly; Health Information Technology Standards and Implementation Specifications

• The opportunity closes for comment at 5 p.m. ET February 13.
• Learn more about the proposed rule and submit comments here.

Federal Register Rule Comment Opportunity: Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Advancing Interoperability and Improving Prior Authorization Processes for Medicare Advantage Organizations, Medicaid Managed Care Plans, State Medicaid Agencies, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Agencies and CHIP Managed Care Entities, Issuers of Qualified Health Plans on the Federally-Facilitated Exchanges, Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) Eligible Clinicians, and Eligible Hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals in the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program

• The opportunity closes for comment at 5 p.m. ET March 13.
• Learn more about the proposed rule and submit comments here.

National Quality Forum (NQF) Event Calendar

Interested in providing feedback on measures under consideration for NQF endorsement? The NQF event calendar includes details about current and upcoming comment periods and information about upcoming meetings.

• Visit the NQF event calendar.

Stay In Touch

Subscribe to receive even more MMS news in your inbox. Have questions or suggestions? Contact MMS Support!