November 23, 2010 — The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently finalized the details and requirements for the 2011 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI).

One noticeable change for the program is that it is getting a new name. Now that the program is permanent, it will be called the Physician Quality Reporting System, or PQRS.

Another major change for 2011 is the number of patients that providers will need to provide quality data on to receive an incentive bonus.  In 2011, providers will only have to report on 50 percent of applicable patients when doing claims-based reporting.  This is a decrease from the 80 percent threshold that has been the standard over the past few years.

In 2011, the incentive bonus for participating is also going down.  Satisfactory participation will result in a 1 percent incentive bonus on Medicare Part B Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) total estimated allowed charges for covered services.

For more information about PQRS, visit www.acatoday.org/PQRS. Additionally, look for new 2011 PQRS resources in the coming weeks.

Source: American Chiropractic Association, www.acatoday.org

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