Mastering MIPS Performance for 2024
As healthcare professionals, navigating the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) requires not just understanding but mastery. With the 2023 reporting deadline now in the rearview mirror and the increased requirements for 2024 looming, it's crucial to focus on optimizing performance across all MIPS categories: Quality, Promoting Interoperability, Improvement Activities, and Cost. In this blog, we'll provide tangible takeaways to monitor and drive performance in each category.
Master MIPS Quality
Quality measures are the backbone of MIPS performance, selecting the right measures is paramount, and driving performance is huge in determining your overall score. Here's a quick recipe to ensure performance success:
Assess Your Reporting System: Ensure you can collect and report the measures you select using your chosen mechanism, whether it's a registry, EHR, or claims.
Evaluate Point Potential: Check the point potential for each measure to understand the level of performance required to earn maximum points.
Optimize Data Collection: Assess the ease or complexity of gathering data for each measure to streamline reporting processes.
Engage Clinical Stakeholders: Consult with physicians and clinical staff to prioritize measures that align with clinical priorities and workflows.
Report Monitoring is Key: Run your Quality reports consistent with how you intend to report. Mind the numerator gaps, understand which patients are being missed and why. Check in with the practice team and share the current performance state so that everyone understands where they are and where there is room for improvement.
By following this recipe, you can strategically select quality measures that drive performance and maximize incentives.
Navigating MIPS Promoting Interoperability in 2024
Promoting Interoperability (PI) remains a cornerstone of MIPS, emphasizing the seamless exchange of health information to enhance patient care. Here's what you need to know for 2024:
Overview of PI Objectives: Understand the objectives of PI, which include improving patient engagement, care coordination, and health data exchange.
180-Day Reporting Requirement: Be aware of the new 180-day reporting period for PI, emphasizing continuous meaningful use of certified EHR technology.
New Initiative: Patient-Centered Health Equity (PCHE) Program: Familiarize yourself with the PCHE program, designed to address health disparities and promote equity in healthcare delivery.
Monitor PI Objectives Consistently: Focus at least weekly on metrics and performance in electronic prescribing, health information exchange, provider-to-patient exchange, and public health data exchange. If performance is not optimal, meet consistently to ensure all staff understand the workflow and the importance of executing it for every patient on every visit!
By prioritizing PI objectives and staying informed about updates, you can ensure compliance and optimize MIPS performance.
Embracing Improvement Activities
Improvement Activities (IA) are vital for demonstrating efforts to enhance clinical practice. Here's how to approach IA requirements for 2024:
Selecting Activities: Choose activities that align with practice priorities and demonstrate meaningful efforts to improve patient care.
Participation Minimums: Ensure you execute and participate in the right combination of number and weight of activities. Also make sure there is clear participation by more than 50% of all eligible clinicians if reporting IA as a group.
Documentation: Understand how to meet IA data validation requirements. Don;t get caught “checking the box” in this category.
By engaging in relevant improvement activities and submitting data accurately, you can earn maximum points in this performance category.
Navigating the Elusive Cost Category
The Cost category, while complex, is essential for scoring well in 2024. Here's how to tackle Cost requirements for 2024:
Understanding Cost Measures: Familiarize yourself with measures such as Total Per Capita Cost (TPCC), Medicare Spending Per Beneficiary (MSPB), and Episode-based Measures.
Assessing Attribution and Impact: Understand how patients are attributed to your practice and the potential impact of cost measures on your overall MIPS score.
Staying Educated: Stay informed about changes to cost measures and methodologies to optimize performance in this category.
Make Sure Patients Visit their PCP: Encouraging preventative and well care for patients has the potential to have a positive impact on Cost measures and overall attribution. Make sure you encourage your Medicare patients to be consistently engaged with their primary care docs.
By staying educated and proactive, you can navigate the complexities of the Cost category and mitigate its impact on your MIPS score.
Mastering MIPS performance requires diligence, strategic planning, and ongoing engagement. By focusing on Quality, Promoting Interoperability, Improvement Activities, and Cost, healthcare professionals can optimize their MIPS performance for the 2024 performance year and beyond. For personalized assistance and guidance, consider partnering with Chirpy Bird to navigate the MIPS landscape effectively. Contact us today!
We offer personal MIPS assistance through pay-as-you-go monthly subscriptions. You get to interact by Zoom, phone, and email with your assigned office expert who can help with EMR workflow training, measure selection, performance monitoring in all categories, education, submission and so much more!
