Detailed descriptions of the quality measures and measures groups that can be used as part of the 2009 Medicare Physician Quality Reporting Initiative are now available online.
Officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also have posted an implementation guide for claims-based reporting in 2009 and instructions for reporting using measures groups.
Among the 153 measures eligible for reporting in 2009, there are 52 new measures including elder maltreatment screening and follow-up planning, glucocorticoid management in rheumatoid arthritis, and influenza immunization in pediatric end-stage renal disease.
The measures and related guidance documents are available at www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI/15_MeasuresCodes.asp
Late last year, CMS officials began listing the names of physicians and other health care professionals who reported on at least 1 of the 74 PQRI measures in 2007 at www.medicare.gov/physician
Along with the listing of physicians, CMS officials included general information about the PQRI program. They noted that physicians may have had good reasons not to report measures and that a failure to report through PQRI doesn't reflect a lack of commitment to high-quality care.
For example, CMS officials wrote that reporting quality data may have been too costly for some physicians or that physicians may have been engaged in other quality improvement reporting activities.