ACP's Performance Measurement Committee review has led to changes in quality measures
Of 30 quality measures that the committee found invalid in an assessment of the 2017 Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), 12 are either already removed or scheduled for removal.
A recent analysis shows that the efforts of ACP's Performance Measurement Committee (PMC) to evaluate quality measures in the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) has had an impact.
The PMC undertook a review of 86 measures in the 2017 MIPS to determine their validity by applying ACP criteria and using a modified RAND-UCLA appropriateness method. This method judged 32 (37%) as valid, 30 (35%) as not valid, and 24 (28%) as of uncertain validity. Results of this work were published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2018.
A recent analysis shows that the PMC's work seems to have affected decision making about the measures. Out of the 30 MIPS measures that the PMC rated as not valid, the following 11 have already been removed from the program:
- 1. MIPS 109: Osteoarthritis: Function and Pain Assessment
- 2. MIPS 122: Adult Kidney Disease: Blood Pressure Management
- 3. MIPS 131: Pain Assessment and Follow-up
- 4. MIPS 163: Comprehensive Diabetes Care: Foot Exam
- 5. MIPS 271: Preventive Care: Corticosteroid Related Iatrogenic Injury—Bone Loss Assessment
- 6. MIPS 276: Sleep Apnea: Assessment of Sleep Symptoms
- 7. MIPS 284: Dementia: Management of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms
- 8. MIPS 325: Adult Major Depressive Disorder: Coordination of Care of Patients with Specific Comorbid Conditions
- 9. MIPS 334: Adult Sinusitis: More Than One CT Scan Within 90 Days for Chronic Sinusitis (Overuse)
- 10. MIPS 411: Depression Remission at Six Months
- 11. MIPS 435: Quality of Life Assessment for Patients with Primary Headache Disorders
An additional measure judged invalid by the PMC has been proposed for removal in 2021 (MIPS 390: Hepatitis C: Discussion and Shared Decision Making Surrounding Treatment Options).
The PMC aims both to provide guidance to ACP members and to be used as a foundation to advocate to public and private payers. More information about the PMC and its work can be found online.