How to Select MIPS Quality Measures
Step 1 : Select At Least 1 Outcome Measure
For the MIPS Quality Performance Category, you must report at least one outcome measure. If no outcome measures are applicable to your patient population, then you must select at least one high-priority measure (see Step 2). The outcome measures you report count towards the six measure requirement for the Quality Performance Category. Reporting additional outcome measures beyond the required one will award two (2) bonus points to your Quality Performance Category Score.
Step 2 : Select Applicable High-Priority Measures
If you were able to select an outcome measure in Step 1, this step is optional. Non-outcome high-priority measures are worth one (1) bonus point for the Quality Performance Category. This makes it a smart idea to include as many outcome and/or high-priority measures as possible in your six Quality Performance Category Measures.
Step 3 : Make Sure You Have 6 Measures Selected
If you have not yet selected six measures and are aiming for a positive MIPS Payment Adjustment, select from the other recommended measures. If you report over six measures, CMS will calculate your MIPS Quality Performance Score using your top performing quality measures.
Recommended Quality Measures
| Quality Id | Measure Name | High Priority | Measure Type | Measure Description | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 044 | Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG): Preoperative Beta-Blocker in Patients with Isolated CABG Surgery | no | Process | Percentage of isolated Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) surgeries for patients aged 18 years and older who received a beta-blocker within 24 hours prior to surgical incision | Read More |
| 047 | Advance Care Plan | yes | Process | Percentage of patients aged 65 years and older who have an advance care plan or surrogate decision maker documented in the medical record or documentation in the medical record that an advance care plan was discussed but the patient did not wish or was not able to name a surrogate decision maker or provide an advance care plan | Read More |
| 076 | Prevention of Central Venous Catheter (CVC) - Related Bloodstream Infections | yes | Process | Percentage of patients, regardless of age, who undergo central venous catheter (CVC) insertion for whom CVC was inserted with all elements of maximal sterile barrier technique, hand hygiene, skin preparation and, if ultrasound is used, sterile ultrasound techniques followed | Read More |
| 128 | Preventive Care and Screening: Body Mass Index (BMI) Screening and Follow-Up Plan | no | Process | Percentage of patients aged 18 years and older with a BMI documented during the current encounter or during the previous twelve months AND with a BMI outside of normal parameters, a follow-up plan is documented during the encounter or during the previous twelve months of the current encounter Normal Parameters: Age 18 years and older BMI => 18.5 and < 25 kg/m2 | Read More |
| 130 | Documentation of Current Medications in the Medical Record | yes | Process | Percentage of visits for patients aged 18 years and older for which the eligible professional or eligible clinician attests to documenting a list of current medications using all immediate resources available on the date of the encounter. This list must include ALL known prescriptions, over-the-counters, herbals, and vitamin/mineral/dietary (nutritional) supplements AND must contain the medications' name, dosage, frequency and route of administration | Read More |
| 226 | Preventive Care and Screening: Tobacco Use: Screening and Cessation Intervention | no | Process | Percentage of patients aged 18 years and older who were screened for tobacco use one or more times within 24 months AND who received tobacco cessation intervention if identified as a tobacco user. | Read More |
| 317 | Preventive Care and Screening: Screening for High Blood Pressure and Follow-Up Documented | no | Process | Percentage of patients aged 18 years and older seen during the reporting period who were screened for high blood pressure AND a recommended follow-up plan is documented based on the current blood pressure (BP) reading as indicated | Read More |
| 342 | Pain Brought Under Control Within 48 Hours | yes | Outcome | Patients aged 18 and older who report being uncomfortable because of pain at the initial assessment (after admission to palliative care services) who report pain was brought to a comfortable level within 48 hours | Read More |
| 358 | Patient-Centered Surgical Risk Assessment and Communication | yes | Process | Percentage of patients who underwent a non-emergency surgery who had their personalized risks of postoperative complications assessed by their surgical team prior to surgery using a clinical data-based, patient-specific risk calculator and who received personal discussion of those risks with the surgeon | Read More |
| 404 | Anesthesiology Smoking Abstinence | yes | Intermediate Outcome | The percentage of current smokers who abstain from cigarettes prior to anesthesia on the day of elective surgery or procedure | Read More |
| 424 | Perioperative Temperature Management | yes | Outcome | Percentage of patients, regardless of age, who undergo surgical or therapeutic procedures under general or neuraxial anesthesia of 60 minutes duration or longer for whom at least one body temperature greater than or equal to 35.5 degrees Celsius (or 95.9 degrees Fahrenheit) was achieved within the 30 minutes immediately before or the 15 minutes immediately after anesthesia end time | Read More |
| 430 | Prevention of Post-Operative Nausea and Vomiting (PONV) – Combination Therapy | yes | Process | Percentage of patients, aged 18 years and older, who undergo a procedure under an inhalational general anesthetic, AND who have three or more risk factors for post-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV), who receive combination therapy consisting of at least two prophylactic pharmacologic antiemetic agents of different classes preoperatively and/or intraoperatively | Read More |
| 431 | Preventive Care and Screening: Unhealthy Alcohol Use: Screening & Brief Counseling | no | Process | Percentage of patients aged 18 years and older who were screened for unhealthy alcohol use using a systematic screening method at least once within the last 24 months AND who received brief counseling if identified as an unhealthy alcohol user | Read More |
| 463 | Prevention of Post-Operative Vomiting (POV) – Combination Therapy (Pediatrics) | yes | Process | Percentage of patients aged 3 through 17 years, who undergo a procedure under general anesthesia in which an inhalational anesthetic is used for maintenance AND who have two or more risk factors for post-operative vomiting (POV), who receive combination therapy consisting of at least two prophylactic pharmacologic anti-emetic agents of different classes preoperatively and/or intraoperatively | Read More |
How to Select MIPS Improvement Activities
Step 1 : Determine how many points are needed for successful reporting.
- • 40 points: The standard number of required points and the maximum score for this Performance Category.
- • 20 points: For small or rural practices, HPSAs, or non-patient facing clinicians/groups.
- • 0 points: Certified Patient Centered Medical Homes receive full credit. A Patient Centered Medical Home must be attested to and will not automatically be classified by CMS as such.
Step 2 : Select Improvement Activities
High-weighted activities are worth 20 points, while medium-weight activities are worth 10 points. Participants can select any combination of activities to meet the requirement.
Recommended Improvement Activities
| Activity Id | Activity Name | Activity Weighting | Activity Description | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IA_PSPA_7 | Use of QCDR data for ongoing practice assessment and improvements | Medium | Participation in a Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR) and use of QCDR data for ongoing practice assessment and improvements in patient safety, including: - Performance of activities that promote use of standard practices, tools and processes for quality improvement (for example, documented preventative screening and vaccinations that can be shared across MIPS eligible clinician or groups); - Use of standard questionnaires for assessing improvements in health disparities related to functional health status (for example, use of Seattle Angina Questionnaire, MD Anderson Symptom Inventory, and/or SF-12/VR-12 functional health status assessment; - Use of standardized processes for screening for social determinants of health such as food security, employment, and housing; - Use of supporting QCDR modules that can be incorporated into the certified EHR technology; or - Use of QCDR data for quality improvement such as comparative analysis across specific patient populations for adverse outcomes after an outpatient surgical procedure and corrective steps to address adverse outcomes. | Read More |
| IA_BMH_2 | Tobacco use | Medium | Tobacco use: Regular engagement of MIPS eligible clinicians or groups in integrated prevention and treatment interventions, including tobacco use screening and cessation interventions (refer to NQF #0028) for patients with co-occurring conditions of behavioral or mental health and at risk factors for tobacco dependence. | Read More |
| IA_PSPA_15 | Implementation of an ASP | Medium | Change Activity Description to: Leadership of an Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP) that includes implementation of an ASP that measures the appropriate use of antibiotics for several different conditions (such as but not limited to upper respiratory infection treatment in children, diagnosis of pharyngitis, bronchitis treatment in adults) according to clinical guidelines for diagnostics and therapeutics. Specific activities may include: - Develop facility-specific antibiogram and prepare report of findings with specific action plan that aligns with overall facility or practice strategic plan.- Lead the development, implementation, and monitoring of patient care and patient safety protocols for the delivery of ASP including protocols pertaining to the most appropriate setting for such services (i.e., outpatient or inpatient). - Assist in improving ASP service line efficiency and effectiveness by evaluating and recommending improvements in the management structure and workflow of ASP processes.- Manage compliance of the ASP policies and assist with implementation of corrective actions in accordance with facility or clinic compliance policies and hospital medical staff by-laws. - Lead the education and training of professional support staff for the purpose of maintaining an efficient and effective ASP.- Coordinate communications between ASP management and facility or practice personnel regarding activities, services, and operational/clinical protocols to achieve overall compliance and understanding of the ASP.- Assist, at the request of the facility or practice, in preparing for and responding to third-party requests, including but not limited to payer audits, governmental inquiries, and professional inquiries that pertain to the ASP service line. - Implementing and tracking an evidence-based policy or practice aimed at improving antibiotic prescribing practices for high-priority conditions. - Developing and implementing evidence-based protocols and decision-support for diagnosis and treatment of common infections.- Implementing evidence-based protocols that align with recommendations in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Core Elements of Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship guidance | Read More |
| IA_PSPA_23 | Completion of CDC Training on Antibiotic Stewardship | High | Completion of all modules of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention antibiotic stewardship course. Note: This activity may be selected once every 4 years, to avoid duplicative information given that some of the modules may change on a year by year basis but over 4 years there would be a reasonable expectation for the set of modules to have undergone substantive change, for the improvement activities performance category score. | Read More |
| IA_PSPA_1 | Participation in an AHRQ-listed patient safety organization. | Medium | Participation in an AHRQ-listed patient safety organization. | Read More |
| IA_PSPA_3 | Participate in IHI Training/Forum Event; National Academy of Medicine, AHRQ Team STEPPS® or Other Similar Activity | Medium | For MIPS eligible clinicians not participating in Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Part IV, new engagement for MOC Part IV, such as the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Training/Forum Event; National Academy of Medicine, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Team STEPPS, or the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) Performance in Practice Modules. | Read More |
| IA_PSPA_6 | Consultation of the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program | High | Clinicians would attest to reviewing the patients' history of controlled substance prescription using state prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) data prior to the issuance of a Controlled Substance Schedule II (CSII) opioid prescription lasting longer than 3 days. For the transition year, clinicians would attest to 60 percent review of applicable patient's history. For the Quality Payment Program Year 2 and future years, clinicians would attest to 75 percent review of applicable patient's history performance. | Read More |
| IA_PSPA_8 | Use of Patient Safety Tools | Medium | In order to receive credit for this activity, a MIPS eligible clinician must use tools that assist specialty practices in tracking specific measures that are meaningful to their practice.Some examples of tools that could satisfy this activity are: a surgical risk calculator; evidence based protocols, such as Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols;106 the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Guide for Infection Prevention for Outpatient Settings107 predictive algorithms; and the opiate risk tool (ORT)108 or similar tool. | Read More |
| IA_BE_6 | Collection and follow-up on patient experience and satisfaction data on beneficiary engagement | High | Collection and follow-up on patient experience and satisfaction data on beneficiary engagement, including development of improvement plan. | Read More |
| IA_BE_13 | Regularly assess the patient experience of care through surveys, advisory councils and/or other mechanisms. | Medium | Regularly assess the patient experience of care through surveys, advisory councils and/or other mechanisms. | Read More |
| IA_CC_15 | PSH Care Coordination | Medium | Participation in a Perioperative Surgical Home (PSH) that provides a patient-centered, physician-led, interdisciplinary, and team-based system of coordinated patient care, which coordinates care from pre-procedure assessment through the acute care episode, recovery, and post-acute care. This activity allows for reporting of strategies and processes related to care coordination of patients receiving surgical or procedural care within a PSH. The clinician must perform one or more of the following care coordination activities:- Coordinate with care managers/navigators in preoperative clinic to plan and implementation comprehensive post discharge plan of care;- Deploy perioperative clinic and care processes to reduce post-operative visits to emergency rooms;- Implement evidence-informed practices and standardize care across the entire spectrum of surgical patients; or- Implement processes to ensure effective communications and education of patients' post-discharge instructions. | Read More |