CMS Grants 2018 QCDR Status To The Pathologists Quality Registry

Contact: Charles Fiegl
Phone: 202-354-7134
E-mail: media@cap.org

The College of American Pathologists continues to help practicing pathologists meet Medicare quality program requirements and earn bonus incentives.

Washington, DC—The Pathologists Quality Registry has been approved as a 2018 Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR) by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for the second consecutive year, solidifying the tool as an instrumental component for pathologists in fulfilling reporting requirements under Medicare's Quality Payment Program (QPP) Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). Developed by pathologists for pathologists, the Pathologists Quality Registry offers additional pathology-specific quality measures and attestation for improvement activities, helping pathologists demonstrate quality care while maximizing Medicare payment bonus potential.

"We are pleased to announce the Medicare program has again approved our registry as a qualified clinical data registry after we have added more measures created by pathologists for pathologists. Our registry will now offer 17 pathology-specific quality measures enabling pathologists greater opportunity in identifying measures relevant to their practice to succeed in MIPS and qualify for Medicare bonuses," said CAP President R. Bruce Williams, MD, FCAP. "In addition, the Pathologists Quality Registry offers continuous quality improvement through a dashboard and quarterly performance benchmark reports that allow practices to monitor performance and elevate the quality of patient care."

The registry offers 17 quality reporting measures all developed by the CAP; eight are QPP measures in the public domain, and the remaining nine are specific pathology measures approved by the CMS in the last two years as QCDR measures—exclusively available in the Pathologists Quality Registry.

Through its measures development led by councils and committees of pathologists, the CAP has sought to improve quality of patient care and ensure pathologists can participate in new quality payment programs. For example, in recent years pathologists have used CAP-developed measures to earn $25 million in additional performance bonuses from the Medicare program.

In addition to offering web-based data entry for practices, the Pathologists Quality Registry also encourages integration with laboratory information systems and electronic cancer checklists for ease of reporting and maximum potential reporting points.

With access to reporting options for all categories applicable to pathologists, the Pathologists Quality Registry will help reduce reporting burdens by allowing participants not only to report on physician quality measures but also to attest to improvement activities under the QPP.

As a QCDR for 2018, the Pathologists Quality Registry is approved to report data on behalf of individual MIPS-eligible clinicians and groups for the 2018 MIPS performance period. The Pathologists Quality Registry will send data directly to the CMS in compliance with MIPS to track quality and foster improvement in patient care. By submitting data for the 2018 reporting period, MIPS-eligible clinicians can avoid a 5% negative payment adjustment and also be eligible for a 5% positive payment adjustment in Medicare Part B reimbursement in 2020.

The CAP has partnered in the development of the Pathologists Quality Registry with FIGmd, a company that specializes in integrating electronic health records with registries. FIGmd has developed and maintained registries for several leading specialty societies, including the American Society of Clinical Oncology, American College of Cardiology, American Academy of Neurology, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

For more information and educational resources about the Quality Payment Program and the Pathologists Quality Registry, click here. Watch pathologist Emily E. Volk, MD, FCAP, further discuss the benefits of our registry.

About the College of American Pathologists

As the world's largest organization of board-certified pathologists and leading provider of laboratory accreditation and proficiency testing programs, the College of American Pathologists (CAP) serves patients, pathologists, and the public by fostering and advocating excellence in the practice of pathology and laboratory medicine worldwide. For more information, read the 2017 CAP Annual Report at CAP.ORG.