News and Events

Join us at 2 p.m. (ET) Wednesday, July 26 for the Measures Management System’s final Information Session of the summer, “Navigating Measure Implementation: Turning Data into Actionable Results.” We look forward to you joining us. Register today!

Presentation Objectives:

• Define measure implementation
• Discuss factors that impact implementation
• Explore the rulemaking vs non-rulemaking measure selection process
• Provide an overview of the various implementation pathways
• Discuss measure rollout and real-world examples of dry runs
   

Presenters

Kathy Lesh, PhD, RN-BC, CPHQ, Battelle

Dr. Lesh is a registered nurse with more than 40 years’ experience. She has supported projects at CMS since 2007 and as a member of Battelle since 2015. She leads the development and maintenance of Blueprint technical content on CMS MMS Hub and is the senior subject matter expert for the eCQI Resource Center.

The Partnership for Quality Measurement (PQM) Guidebook of Policies and Procedures for Pre-Rulemaking Measure Review (PRMR) and Measure Set Review (MSR) is available for public comment until 11:59 p.m. (ET) July 21. The Guidebook provides an overview of PRMR and MSR, including: 

• policies and procedures
• timelines
• measure selection and removal criteria
• committee compositions
• approach to committee engagement

Please submit comments through the PQM website. If you have any questions, please contact PQM Support. We will host an informational session on July 10th 2-4 pm EST to discuss the Guidebook prior to closing the public comment period. You can register here. 

Want to get involved with PRMR or MSR? Join PQM! Membership is free. 

Please join Battelle, a consensus-based entity, from 12 - 2 p.m. (ET) June 30 for a webinar about the new Endorsement & Maintenance (E&M) approach. They will discuss timelines, policies, procedures, Partnership for Quality Measurement (PQM) membership, nominations, and more. Following the webinar, they will open a 30-day public comment period on July 1, during which you can provide feedback on this new process. Register for the webinar.

For questions, please contact PQM Support at PQMsupport@battelle.org or visit the PQM website at p4qm.org. 

Please join the Battelle Measures Management System (MMS) team for a discussion of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) National Quality Strategy, a long-term initiative that promotes quality outcomes, safety, equity, and accessibility for all individuals, especially for people in historically underserved and under-resourced communities. You are central to CMS’s person-centric approach, and we are excited to share how this strategy’s eight core goals and key milestones will drive equity, quality, safety, and interoperability across the continuum of care. There are two opportunities to attend “Advancing Excellence: CMS National Quality Strategy”; please select the one that works best for your schedule!

Register here for the June 27 presentation. 

Presenters

• Michelle Schreiber, MD, is the Deputy Director of the CMS Center for Clinical Standards and Quality (CCSQ) and the Group Director for the Quality Measurement and Value-Based Incentives Group (QMVIG).
• Doug Jacobs, MD, is the Chief Transformation Officer at CMS, leading center-wide efforts to move the health care system toward value-based care, advance health equity, and promote delivery system transformation.

Please submit your National Quality Strategy questions to the Measures Management System team at MMSSupport@Battelle.org. 

Please join CMS’s Measures Management System (MMS) team at 2 p.m. (ET) Wednesday, May 24 for the MMS Information Session, “Putting the Test in Measure Testing: Addressing Common Challenges.” Register today!

Presentation Objectives

Learn about common challenges measure developers might face during measure testing, such as: 

• When to use Alpha vs. Beta testing, 
• Trade-offs between validity and feasibility,
• Managing limited sample sizes,
• Collaborating with testing sites, and
• Testing critical data elements.

Visit the MMS Hub website, mmshub.cms.gov, to learn more about measure testing and other stages of the measure lifecycle.

Presenter Organization: Battelle MMS Team

Register here. 

CMS has contracted with Acumen, LLC to develop episode-based cost measures for their potential use in the cost performance category of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). As part of Wave 5 of measure development, Acumen convenes Clinician Expert Workgroups (“workgroups”) to provide input on all components of cost measure specifications.

Acumen is hosting part-day virtual workgroup webinars from March 6 to 24, 2023, that will be open to the public with a listen-only option. Members of the public are invited to listen in on the considerations that inform cost measure development.

To register (required), please click:

• Rheumatoid Arthritis [lnks.gd]: Friday, March 24, 2023, 4:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. ET

Information about the measure development process and development activities [including the Wave 5 Measure Development Process (PDF) [lnks.gd] document] undertaken in previous years is on the MACRA Feedback Page [lnks.gd].

If you have any questions about measure development, the Wave 5 workgroups, or the workgroup meetings, please contact Acumen at macra-clinical-committee-support@acumenllc.com. If you would like to receive measure development updates, please join our mailing list [lnks.gd].

CMS has contracted with Acumen, LLC to develop episode-based cost measures for their potential use in the cost performance category of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). As part of Wave 5 of measure development, Acumen convenes Clinician Expert Workgroups (“workgroups”) to provide input on all components of cost measure specifications.

Acumen is hosting part-day virtual workgroup webinars from March 6 to 24, 2023, that will be open to the public with a listen-only option. Members of the public are invited to listen in on the considerations that inform cost measure development.

To register (required), please click:

• Prostate Cancer [lnks.gd]: Friday, March 17, 2023, 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. ET

Information about the measure development process and development activities [including the Wave 5 Measure Development Process (PDF) [lnks.gd] document] undertaken in previous years is on the MACRA Feedback Page [lnks.gd].

If you have any questions about measure development, the Wave 5 workgroups, or the workgroup meetings, please contact Acumen at macra-clinical-committee-support@acumenllc.com. If you would like to receive measure development updates, please join our mailing list [lnks.gd].

Join CMS to learn about the ins and outs of the tool for measure submissions to be held on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM, ET.

 REGISTER

Join CMS to learn about this about this year’s Pre-Rulemaking process, requirements, and resources to be held on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, from 12:00 PM -1:00 PM, ET.

REGISTER

MMS Information Session: Unveiling CMS Measures Inventory Tool (CMIT) 2.6!

When: 2 – 3 p.m. (ET) Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Presenter Organization: Battelle

Presentation Objectives

• Learn about CMIT 2.6’s enhanced features during a presentation and live demo including:
  • Updates to the measure terminology and IDs
  • Expanded information including Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) model and demonstration measures and the integration of the new Cascade of Meaningful Measures categorization

Register here to join us on March 29^th!

Please join us 2 - 3 p.m. (ET) Wednesday, February 22 for a webinar, “Digital Quality Measures: Specifying the Future of Quality Measurement.” A digital quality measure is a measure that uses one or more electronic data sources and can be reported electronically. Digital quality measurement is an important aspect of CMS’s effort to reduce provider burden, increase measurement efficiency, and support alignment across its programs. To meet this aim, digital quality measurement can be specified using standards and tools different from those used in manually abstracted measures. To learn more about these special considerations, including how data elements are defined and standardized, please attend. We look forward to you joining us! Register here.