Physician Compare, Medicare’s online portal for checking on physician qualifications, has added quality scores for physicians in some group practices and Accountable Care Organizations.
The site now displays how a group of physicians has performed on five quality indicators related to management of diabetes and heart disease.
The website will display the ratings using stars, as well as the actual percentage score on the measure.
"This is an important first step in publicly reporting quality measures on Physician Compare," Dr. Patrick Conway, chief medical officer and deputy administrator for innovation and quality at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said in a statement. "Offering a strong set of meaningful quality measures on the site will ultimately help consumers make decisions and it will encourage quality improvement among the clinician community, who shares CMS’s strong commitment to the best possible patient care."
The new website will display physician ratings using stars, as well as the actual percentage score on the measure.
The Physician Compare site, which was created under the Affordable Care Act, already displays the specialties offered by physicians, their board certification, and hospital affiliations. It also displays whether physicians participate in Medicare quality programs such as the Physician Quality Reporting System, the Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program, and the Electronic Health Records Incentive Program.
The information comes primarily from the Provider, Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS) and is checked against Medicare claims data. The site includes information on physicians enrolled in the Medicare program only.
This year, CMS is posting quality data from 66 group practices and 141 ACOs. The data is reported at the group practice and ACO level.
The quality measures include:
• Controlling hemoglobin A1c in patients with diabetes.
• Controlling blood pressure in patients with diabetes.
• Prescribing aspirin to patients with diabetes and heart disease.
• Reporting the number of diabetic patients who do not use tobacco.
• Prescribing medicine to improve the pumping action of the heart in patients who have both heart disease and certain other conditions.
mschneider@frontlinemedcom.com
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