The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has extended two deadlines affecting eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) participating in the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Program and/or the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program.
- The deadline for the submission of electronic clinical quality measure (eCQM) data for the calendar year (CY) 2021 reporting period, pertaining to the fiscal year (FY) 2023 payment determination, has been changed from Monday, February 28, 2022, to Thursday, March 31, 2022, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time (PT).
- The Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program attestation deadline for eligible hospitals and CAHs has been changed from Monday, February 28, 2022, to Thursday, March 31, 2022, at 11:59 p.m. PT.
For CY 2021 reporting, all other aspects of eCQM reporting requirements remain the same. Successful submission continues to be defined as reporting on at least four of the nine eCQMs available, for two self-selected quarters, utilizing a combination of Quality Reporting Document Architecture (QRDA) Category I files, zero denominator declarations, and/or case threshold exemptions. The self-selected eCQMs must be the same eCQMs across quarters in a given reporting year. This information is reported through the Hospital Quality Reporting Secure Portal. For hospitals participating in the Hospital IQR Program, the deadline for submitting an Extraordinary Circumstances Exceptions (ECE) request for CY 2021 eCQM reporting remains Friday, April 1, 2022.
The Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program has a separate hardship exception process. Instructions and applications for eligible hospitals and CAHs based on payment adjustment year are available on the Scoring Payment Adjustment and Hardship Information page in the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program section of the CMS.gov website. Questions regarding this program can be directed to the QualityNet Service Center.
More Information
Visit the eCQM Reporting Overview page on QualityNet.org and the Hospital IQR Program Resources and Tools page on QualityReportingCenter.com for additional information on reporting eCQMs for the Hospital IQR Program. Tools and resources for CY 2021 eCQM reporting are now available.
Information regarding Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program requirements, tip sheets, and fact sheets can be found on the CMS.gov 2021 Program Requirements page. Additional details regarding attestation via the Hospital Quality Reporting Secure Portal are available on the CMS.gov Promoting Interoperability Program Eligible Hospital Information page.
Contact Information
- For further assistance regarding the Hospital IQR Program and policy information contained in this message, which includes questions about the eCQM ECE submission process, please contact the Inpatient Value, Incentives, and Quality Reporting Outreach and Education Support Contractor at https://cmsqualitysupport.servicenowservices.com/qnet_qa or (844) 472-4477.
- Questions regarding any aspect of the attestation process and the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program can be directed to the QualityNet Service Center at qnetsupport@hcqis.org or (866) 288-8912. The QualityNet Service Center can also assist with questions regarding the Hospital Quality Reporting (HQR) System, which includes user roles, reports, data upload, and troubleshooting file errors.
- For questions regarding eCQM specifications, value sets, and appropriateness of mapping, please submit questions to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) CQM Issue Tracker at https://oncprojectracking.healthit.gov/support/projects/CQM/summary.