Independent Primary Care Practice Success and MACRA – MACRA Monday

The following is a guest blog post by Christina Scannapiego who currently writes the technical documentation and educational content for HealthFusion MediTouch. This post is part of the MACRA Monday series of blog posts where we dive into the details of the MACRA Quality Payment Program.

Can participating in a PCMH and programs like Chronic Care Management improve your MIPS total score?

The shift to fee-for-value healthcare may feel like discouraging, foreign territory. However, if you’re already participating in value-based models like a patient centered medical home or chronic care management, your practice is more poised for success during this transition.

Chronic Care Management

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have increased reimbursement for Chronic Care Management (CCM) services. Now, a provider has the potential to earn more than $50,000 per year under the CCM program. Patient-centered care, patient engagement and better care coordination are the core objectives of CMS. Participation in CCM could weigh heavily on your total MIPS score. CCM helps patients by extending care support beyond face-to-face appointments. Participation in this program will help you move the needle in four performance categories by extending care between office visits, controlling costs, increasing care coordination, enhancing doctor-patient relationships to help improve patient outcomes.

CCM and MACRA overlap across several MIPS components:

  • Advancing Care Information: Previously Meaningful Use, meant to achieve patient engagement and promote the electronic exchange of information, practice analytics and reporting capabilities using an EHR.
  • Quality measures: At least 30 measures including many high priority items are common to the CCM program.
  • Clinical Practice Improvement Activities: Patient engagement is one of the main objectives of both CCM and MACRA. Providing 24/7 access to clinicians and coordinating care across provider settings plays an integral part in the CCM objectives and will boost your score in this performance category.
  • Cost: Although providers aren’t responsible for reporting data in this performance category, participating in CCM can lower costs due to preventable hospitalizations from poor medication adherence and care transitions to other providers. Patients with multiple chronic conditions can often pose the highest costs in healthcare. Effectively managing the care of patients will ultimately benefit their overall well-being and the health of your practice.

Patient Centered Medical Home

The PCMH model was established to help deliver patient-centered care through care coordination, preventative services, population health management and extended access to care services. This model thrives from robust patient engagement, which is one of MACRA’s most important goals. MIPS scoring methods favor those participating in PCMH by automatically scoring providers with 100% in the Advancing Care Information performance category. PCMH recognized practices will also likely get credit in the Advancing Care Information performance category because of their experience with NCQA standards.

The importance of both CCM and PCMHs in the new healthcare regime have placed primary care physicians in a unique and opportune position; one in which the independent provider stands to find success amidst change. The impact of MACRA on healthcare is “monumental” and “herculean,” said the Director of Provider Innovation Strategies at DST Health Solutions in her presentation, “The Role of PCMH Under MACRA.” MACRA isn’t a momentary, passing legislation — it’s had bipartisan support from the beginning and it’s here to stay. Luckily for PCHM and CCM participators, this new legislation and enormous impact becomes more manageable.

About the Christina Scannapiego:
Christina Scannapiego has been a technical, health and lifestyle writer for more than 10 years. Christina currently writes the technical documentation and educational content for HealthFusion MediTouch, an Electronic Health Records software platform. HealthFusion and its MediToch cloud software suite is a subsidiary of Quality Systems/next Gen. MediTouch is comprised of a range of web-based software solutions for physicians, medical practices and billing services.

   

Categories