PQRS REPORTING

The Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) is a voluntary quality reporting program created by The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that provides a financial incentive for eligible providers who successfully report individual quality measures or measures groups during a designated reporting period.

CMS qualifies registries to submit PQRS on behalf of their eligible professionals. The Anesthesia Quality Institute (AQI) is a qualified PQRS registry.   

For the 2012 reporting year, a major change is the reduction of the incentive amount from 1.0 percent of Medicare allowed payments in 2011 to 0.5 percent in 2012, 2013, and 2014.  2012 data must be received by AQI no later than January 15th, 2013.  This allows AQI enough time to load and report the data.

PQRS Anesthesia Measures

• Measure #30 Perioperative Care: Timely Administration of Prophylactic Parenteral Antibiotics
• Measure #76 Prevention of Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infections
• Measure #193 Perioperative Temperature Management

Consult the 2012 Physician Quality Reporting System Measure Specifications Manual for the detailed requirements and reporting instructions for each of these measures.

Requirements for Reporting PQRS Through AQI

The following requirements are necessary in order for AQI to report PQRS measures on behalf of eligible professionals in your group.

Annual Requirements

• Completed Form for AQI to Submit PQRS Data on behalf of the group practice’s Eligible Professionals
• Completed Eligible Professionals (EP) List for Submitting PQRS Data Through AQI

Monthly Requirements and Data Elements for Each Case

• CPT Code — Surgical
• CPT Code — Anesthesia
• PQRS Measure Code — usually specified in CPT Code field
• Patient Age or DOB (at least year of birth)
• Insurance Type to identify case as Medicare Part B (FFS)