The Public Comment Period for Draft CMS FHIR® Digital Quality Measures (dQMs) is now open. Comment on Eligible Clinician dQMs, Hospital - Inpatient dQMs, and Hospital - Outpatient dQMs until February 25, 2026.
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NOTICE: Submission of CY 2021 eCQM Data Due March 31, 2022
For hospitals participating in the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) and/or Medicare Promoting Interoperability Programs, the deadline to submit data for at least four electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs) for two self-selected quarters (Q) of calendar year (CY) 2021 data is Thursday, March 31, 2022, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time (PT). The quarters for CY 2021 are:
- Q1 2021 (January 1–March 31)
- Q2 2021 (April 1–June 30)
- Q3 2021 (July 1–September 30)
- Q4 2021 (October 1–December 31)
The eCQMs must be the same across quarters. To meet Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) CY 2021 eCQM reporting requirements, report on at least four eCQMs from the CY 2021 Available eCQMs Table, for two self-selected quarters, using electronic health record (EHR) technology certified to the existing 2015 Edition, 2015 Edition Cures Update, or a combination of both. Data must be submitted through the Hospital Quality Reporting (HQR) Secure Portal in any combination of Quality Reporting Document Architecture (QRDA) Category I files, zero denominator declarations, and/or case threshold exemptions. The successful submission of CY 2021 eCQM data will apply towards the Hospital IQR Program and the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program for determining fiscal year (FY) 2023 payment update determinations.
Note: The attestation deadline for the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program is Thursday, March 31, 2022, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Additional details regarding attestation via the HQR Secure Portal are available on the Promoting Interoperability Program web page of CMS.gov. Questions regarding the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program, including the attestation process, can be directed to the QualityNet Service Center at qnetsupport@hcqis.org or (866) 288-8912.
Please verify the status of your eCQM data submission prior to the deadline. To do that, generate the Program Credit Report, Submission Accuracy Report, and other applicable reports within the HQR System. Refer to the CY 2021 eCQM QRDA I File Submission Checklist for further information.
Extraordinary Circumstances Exceptions (ECEs)
Hospitals participating in the Hospital IQR Program that are unable to successfully report eCQM data by the submission deadline can review the Extraordinary Circumstances Exceptions Policy information and ECE request form located on the QualityNet website. ECE requests related to eCQM reporting for the Hospital IQR Program are due by Friday, April 1, 2022.
Hardship Exceptions
Hardship exceptions for the Promoting Interoperability Program follow a different request process and different timeline than the Hospital IQR Program. For additional information on the Promoting Interoperability Program process, refer to the Scoring, Payment Adjustment, and Hardship Information web page on CMS.gov.
Contact Information
To ensure your hospital receives critical communications about meeting the requirements of the Hospital IQR Program (and other CMS quality reporting programs), including submission deadline reminders and program updates, it is important that we have the complete contact information for the key roles at your hospital. Updates to your contact information can be submitted, if needed, using the Hospital Contact Change Form.
- For questions concerning the HQR System, file-error messages, and the Promoting Interoperability Program, please contact the QualityNet Service Center at qnetsupport@hcqis.org or (866) 288-8912.
- 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) eCQM Issue Tracker at https://oncprojectracking.healthit.gov/support/projects/CQM/summary.
- For QRDA-related questions, please submit questions to the ONC QRDA Issue Tracker at https://oncprojectracking.healthit.gov/support/projects/QRDA/summary.
- For questions regarding the Hospital IQR Program, please contact the Inpatient Value, Incentives, and Quality Reporting (VIQR) Outreach and Education Support Contract Team at https://cmsqualitysupport.servicenowservices.com/qnet_qa or (844) 472-4477.
Last Updated: May 24, 2023