Readers Write: MIPS is Here – Don’t Be Afraid

MIPS is Here – Don’t Be Afraid
By Mandy Long

Some feel that the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System, part of the Quality Payment Program intended to improve the healthcare continuum by advancing quality-based care, has created new risk and uncertainty for a main industry pillar – providers. On the one hand, physicians who have been participating for years in the Physician Quality Reporting System and Meaningful Use state they feel ready for MIPS reporting. On the other hand, some have voiced concerns over needing more time to understand the program and prepare their practices due to a lack of resources, including staff and funding.

MIPS presents opportunities and challenges, and practices should stay educated regarding value-based reimbursement. As the chair of the Electronic Health Record Association’s Clinician Experience Workgroup, I’ve spoken with numerous clinicians, stakeholders, and industry experts about the concerns physicians have over the new reporting requirements and potential pitfalls.

While another mandate may seem daunting, many of today’s modern technologies can help address these changes and aid in the clinical, financial, and operational success of physicians. Here are four common MIPS-related concerns I’ve heard and accompanying reasons why the right technology and EHR vendor can help alleviate those stressors:

1) Concern: Practices are concerned about the lack of resources and time needed to help staff understand the new requirements.

Why? Understanding the complex requirements of MIPS can be difficult and overwhelming, especially for practices that feel they have less time and inadequate resources to develop the necessary knowledge.

Resolution: Work with a vendor that doubles as a responsive training and support team. Not only should they supply a modern solution that is intuitive and easy to use, but they should also offer services such as concierge coaching, education, and advisory services for practices that may not have the necessary in-house talent (or time). With limited resources, it is important to have an expert available to keep your staff well-informed as legislation evolves in our industry.

2) Concern: Practices are concerned that their staff doesn’t have the right experience with EHR systems and skills to leverage data needed for participation.

Why? Most physician practices have limited time to devote to additional administrative duties, including collecting and reporting data on quality measures and completing required documentation needed for participation in the new payment models.

Resolution: Select a vendor that has a proven track record in MU attestations and PQRS reporting, and offers an EHR system with structured data that automates the process. The right system should not increase overhead, but rather make your current team more efficient by streamlining data entry and reporting for each patient visit.

3) Concern: Practices that fight joining larger organizations are concerned that they lack the data needed to compare their performance to that of other practices or benchmarks.

Why? Some industry thought leaders have said that MIPS was a Congressional effort to push doctors to join larger organizations, which many consider better equipped to manage and coordinate care across the continuum. It is believed that practices that do so are more likely to participate in quality monitoring or clinical benchmarking than practices that do not share resources.

Resolution: Implement a solution with native analytical capabilities that documents near real-time comparative benchmarking of quality and cost. Your system should not only track individual physician performance and practice performance, but should also show you where you stand when compared to other physicians in your specialty.

4) Concern: Practices are concerned that they lack financial resources needed to make initial investments.

Why? Practices may not have a budget that can absorb the investments and resources necessary to keep up-to-date on and purchase solutions that meet regulatory requirements, especially when it comes to dedicated headcount to focus on quality programs.

Resolution: Avoid headaches by investing intelligently now with a partner offering services and solutions to help you avoid the end-to-end burden yourself. Your vendor should offer a specialty-specific, all-in-one suite of solutions and help develop a roadmap supporting your practice’s evolving needs. Your system should have MIPS success embedded in its technology, and shouldn’t require you to re-enter data already being collected during the clinical visit. It should offer services to educate and train your staff on how to appropriately document to succeed in the new MIPS landscape, and keep you knowledgeable as requirements evolve.

While CMS recognizes some difficulties that practices will face with new legislation, successfully navigating MIPS ultimately falls to the provider in selecting a partner who will best support their long-term goals. If you’re experiencing concerns similar to those listed above, don’t wait and see how these measures will impact your operations and finances. Find a great partner and adopt the right solution to prepare for the volume to value transition.

Mandy Long is VP of product management at Modernizing Medicine in Boca Raton, FL. 

---

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk, HIStalk Connect.

Get HIStalk Practice updates.
Contact us online.
Become a sponsor.