Reporting for the 2008 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) began January 1. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) advises that physicians and other eligible professionals, who plan to participate, should begin claims-based reporting as soon as possible.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) expanded the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) to cover 119 measures for 2008. The measures fall into seven broad categories, including: 2007 PQRI Quality measures, American Medical Association (AMA) Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement (PCPI) measures, Pennsylvania QIO measures, AQA Starter Set, NQF-endorsed measures, and American Podiatric Medical Association measures.

Bonus payments for successful participation in 2008 PQRI will be paid from the Medicare Part B Trust Fund- same as for 2007. Eligible professionals may earn a bonus payment of 1.5% of total allowed charges for covered services payable under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. Information on the 119 PQRI measures, such as 2008 PQRI Coding for Quality Handbook, the 2008 Measure Specifications Release Notes and other educational materials are available on the CMS web site. CMS recommends:

• Start reporting early to increase the probability of achieving the 80 percent rate of reporting during the reporting period.
• Report on as many measures as possible to increase the likelihood of achieving successful reporting.
• Ensure that quality codes are reported on the same claim as the diagnosis or CPT-I codes.

 Regarding the 2007 PQRI measures, Part B claims for 2007 must reach National Claims History File by February 29, 2008 for those claims to be included in the calculation for the PQRI bonus to be paid by mid 2008. Analysis of the claims will be performed at the individual NPI level. The bonus will be paid to the holder of the Tax ID Number. Confidential feedback reports will be available around the time of the bonus payment.

Download 2008 PQRI Coding for Quality Handbook (PDF) and the 2008 Measure Specifications Release Notes (PDF).