Now Available: Updated 2021 CMS QRDA III Implementation Guide for Eligible Professionals and Eligible Clinicians following the publication of the CY 2021 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released an update to the 2021 CMS Quality Reporting Document Architecture (QRDA) Category III Implementation Guide (IG) for Eligible Clinicians and Eligible Professionals to support Calendar Year (CY) 2021 reporting. The update includes the list of electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs) finalized by CMS for the CY 2021 Performance Period based on the CY 2021 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule released on December 1, 2020. It also includes information for Improvement Activity Identifiers, Promoting Interoperability Objectives and Measures, and Promoting Interoperability Attestation Statement Identifiers finalized by CMS for the CY 2021 Performance Period based on the CY 2021 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule.

The updated 2021 CMS QRDA III IG outlines requirements for eligible clinicians and eligible professionals to report eCQMs, Improvement Activities, and Promoting Interoperability measures for the CY 2021 performance period for these programs:

• Quality Payment Program: Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and Advanced Alternative Payment Models (APMs)
• Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+)
• Primary Care First (PCF)
• Medicaid Promoting Interoperability (PI)

Changes to the 2021 CMS QRDA III IG:

• Updates to Table 14: universally unique identifier (UUID) List for MIPS CY 2021 Performance Period eCQM Specifications for Eligible Professionals and Eligible Clinicians
• Updates to Table 15: Improvement Activities Identifiers for the MIPS CY 2021 Performance Period.
• Updates to Table 16: 2021 Promoting Interoperability Objectives and Measures Identifiers
• Updates to Table 17: Promoting Interoperability Attestation Statements Identifiers

Additional QRDA-Related Resources:

Additional QRDA-related resources, as well as current and past implementation guides, are found on the Electronic Clinical Quality Improvement (eCQI) Resource Center QRDA page. For questions related to this guidance, the QRDA IGs, Schematrons, or Sample Files, visit the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) Project Tracking System (Jira) QRDA project. For questions related to Quality Payment Program/MIPS data submissions visit the Quality Payment Program website, contact by phone 1-866-288-8292, or email QPP@cms.hhs.gov.