Register for the Anesthesia Quality and Patient Safety Meeting
Join us July 14-15 for the virtual Anesthesia Quality and Patient Safety Meeting. The Anesthesia Quality and Patient Safety Meeting focuses on key themes in quality improvement, patient safety, team collaboration, and wellness, featuring renowned practitioners who are passionate about ensuring safe care before, during, and after surgery. Review the agenda here.
Register for 2023 NACOR Quality Reporting
AQI participants can begin the enrollment process for the 2023 Anesthesia Quality Institute National Anesthesia Clinical Outcomes Registry (AQI NACOR) Quality Reporting by completing the 2023 online order form. AQI NACOR is a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) designated Qualified Registry and Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR). AQI NACOR can submit data for individuals and groups participating in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS).
All new and returning practices, including Quality Concierge practices, must complete a 2023 registration form (regardless of reporting tier).
AQI’s NACOR quality reporting options for 2023 include Quality Concierge, NACOR Quality Reporting, NACOR Benchmarking and NACOR Basic.
For more information, please email askaqi@asahq.org.
Add Anesthesiology-specific QCDR Measures to your 2023 MIPS Dashboard
As you prepare for MIPS 2023 reporting with NACOR, please consider adding anesthesiology specialty-specific QCDR measures to your dashboard. NACOR offers a suite of specialty measures. Since CMS picks your 6 highest scoring measures, you may add any number of QCDR measures to your submission and ensure your anesthesiology measures remain in the MIPS program.
NACOR has quality measures that address the specialty care your practice provides and by engaging with these measures, you help build the data that may be used for research, all while diversifying your MIPS measure portfolio.
If you specialize in cardiology, consider submitting data on AQI 18 and 49 which are at risk for reapproval because of low participation. If you wish to focus on geriatric patients, please consider reporting data on AQI 67. And if you work in an ambulatory setting, please consider adding AQI 71 to your list of 2023 measures. Please review NACOR's QCDR measures and add QCDR measures to your dashboard today.
Complete ASA's Conversion Factor Survey
Every year, ASA conducts a survey of anesthesia conversion factors (payment per ASA unit) used by commercial payors across the country. The results of this survey provide critical context as individual anesthesia practices assess their position in the overall marketplace. Information in this survey will remain anonymous.
If you are the clinical leader for your group practice, please coordinate with your administrative staff to complete the survey found at the link below. You do not need to have all of your billing data available to begin the survey. Once you have entered the clinical details for your group, the survey form can be forwarded to your billing company for entry of the required claims information.
If you are not the clinical leader for your group practice, please forward this information to that individual and indicate that you would like your group to participate this year.
Click here to access the survey. More details can be found in the “Survey Instructions” tab of the spreadsheet. Please contact Helen Olkaba, ASA's Director of Payment and Practice Management (h.olkaba@asahq.org) with any questions.
CMS Publishes 2021 Quality Payment Program Experience Report and Infographic
This week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the 2021 Quality Payment Program (QPP) Experience Report, along with an associated infographic. QPP participants can access these materials for data on general performance and participation in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and Advanced Alternative Payment Models (APMs) for the 2021 performance year.
Access CMS' 2021 Experience Report Public Use File for more detailed information.
2022 MIPS Final Score Preview Now Available
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has opened the Final Score Preview period for the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). Authorized representatives of practices, virtual groups, and Alternative Payment Model (APM) Entities can now sign into the Quality Payment Program (QPP) website to preview 2022 MIPS final scores.
The MIPS Final Score Preview period is available until final performance feedback, including payment adjustments, is released in August 2023.