The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has launched a pay-for-reporting program for ASCs to report quality of care data in order to not receive a payment penalty. This program is the Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality Reporting (ASCQR) Program.
Requirements for the Quality Reporting Program
Historical data regarding the ASC rulings can be found here. For the CY 2022 payment decisions, CMS used a variety of data sources to determine quality of care. Facilities submitted measures through a web-based portal or through Medicare administrative claims information.
In order to ensure that meaningful data is collected, CMS continues to evaluate measures. Evaluating quality of care can shift over time, therefore CMS will remove unnecessary measures and add new measures to improve the process. Upcoming measures will include intra-operative and post-operative care.
Measures for the CY 2022 Payment Determination
- ASC-9 Endoscopy/Polyp Surveillance: Appropriate Follow-Up Interval for Normal Colonoscopy in Average Risk Patients
- ASC-11 Cataracts: Improvement in Patient’s Visual Function within 90 Days Following Cataract Surgery
- ASC-12 Facility 7-Day Risk-Standardized Hospital Visit Rate after Outpatient Colonoscopy
- ASC-13 Normothermia
- ASC-14 Unplanned Anterior Vitrectomy
- ASC-17 Hospital Visits After Orthopedic Ambulatory Surgical Center Procedures
- ASC-18 Hospital Visits After Urology Ambulatory Surgical Center Procedures
Learn more about the program requirements on the CMS website.
Public Reporting
All data collected by CMS through the ASC quality reporting program is publicly available. Whether you have Medicare or just want to compare the quality of care information, anyone is able to review the information. Making this data public allows facilities to have benchmark data and also provides transparency into the healthcare system.
For patients interested in the quality of care information, CMS publishes all data on their website here. Not only can consumers look up their facility to review quality data, but reporting publicly also incentivizes providers to continue to improve their care delivery so that they can improve their public scores.
This data is updated bi-annually and previous data can be found in the Provider Data Catalog.
Tools for Improving Your Quality Scores
Many practices are seeking ways to improve quality scores without breaking the bank. Solutions like telehealth and remote patient monitoring allow facilities to easily implement new technology that increase patient satisfaction, improve quality scores, and increase clinical efficiency. Because patient outcomes matter, it’s more important now than ever to track patient progress throughout their journey, not just while they are within the facility.
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