September 17, 2010 — Doctors of chiropractic who participate in Medicare’s Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) should be aware that an effort has been initiated to evaluate the functional assessment performance measure used by DCs.
It is important to note that this is not a financial audit. The review is being conducted by Quality Insights of Pennsylvania (QIP), a quality measures development organization. Providers should understand that this review and request for records will not result in a recoupment of funds.
This review is strictly for information-gathering purposes to determine if PQRI participants are reporting the functional assessment performance measure correctly. For providing the requested information, QIP will reimburse providers a $19 search-and-retrieval fee, as well as $1.33 per page of documentation submitted, for up to 20 pages. The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) encourages providers to respond to these requests for information. Again, please note that there is no penalty if it is determined that the incorrect code was submitted. Ultimately, this review will be helpful to providers to ensure that they are participating appropriately in PQRI.
Successful participation in PQRI makes providers eligible for the PQRI incentive bonuses while they are available until 2014 and ensures that providers will not have their Medicare payments reduced when the 1.5 percent disincentive is introduced in 2015. If you have any questions, please contact the Government Relations Department at gr@acatoday.org.
Source: American Chiropractic Association, http://www.acatoday.org/
