Don’t miss out on your MIPS reimbursement

By: Whitney Faler | 11/01/19

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The Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) can be confusing for many, especially as new clinicians first become eligible to participate. But meeting your MIPS requirements doesn't have to be arduous and painful.

	MIPS Eligible Clinicians Physicians Osteopathic practitioners Chiropractors Physician assistants Nurse practitioners Clinical nurse specialists Certified registered nurse anesthetists New for 2019: Physical therapists Occupational therapists Clinical psychologists Qualified speech-language pathologists Qualified audiologists Registered dietitians or nutrition professionals

MIPS is one of two tracks under the Quality Payment Program (QPP) for Medicare Part B providers. MIPS-eligible providers should participate in MIPS or they will be subject to a negative payment adjustment on Medicare Part B reimbursements. One unique aspect of MIPS is that CME can count towards your MIPS requirement if the activities are designed and executed in alignment with the QPP guidance. As our foundation of instructional design, CME Outfitters’ activities are designed to meet the requirements as MIPS improvement activities. When you participate in one of our activities that is designated as an improvement activity, we make it as straightforward as possible to submit your requirements to CMS.
 
MIPS has four performance categories, including an improvement activity category, for which CME qualifies. The improvement activity aspect of MIPS assesses how much you participate in activities that improve clinical practice. Active participation may be different for each activity, but this generally means staying engaged.

Under the improvement activity category, clinicians are able to choose from many activities to demonstrate their performance. When using CME to demonstrate performance, here’s what to expect for most activities:

1. Meaningful participation: Actively participate in the CME activity by answering the pre- and posttest questions and audience response questions, and/or asking questions of the faculty.
2. Collection and analysis of performance data: CME Outfitters will follow up with participants via survey approximately 3 months after activity completion to assess the impact of the interventions discussed as part of the improvement activity requirements.
3. CME provider has a mechanism for documentation: CME Outfitters will provide documentation of the participant’s completion of the requirements for submission as a MIPS improvement activity.

 
Clinicians can report participation in CME activities to the QPP under activity ID: IA_PSPA_28. CME activity weighting for MIPS is medium.
 
CME Outfitters is hard at work creating new courses that qualify as MIPS-eligible. Some CME Outfitters activities that qualify for MIPS include:

• Visualizing Pain and Addiction: An Augmented Reality Discussion
• Teaming Up to Manage Patients With COPD: A Game Plan to Streamline Care
• A Grassroots Approach to Weed Out HIV and HCV in Special OUD Populations
• Application to Practice: Translating the New Ulcerative Colitis Guidelines for the Optimal Management of Your Patients with UC

 
Check out CME Outfitters’ course catalog for a full listing of our on-demand webinars, CME snacks, interactive infographics, and case simulations offering MIPS.
 
For more information about CME Outfitters’ activities, visit http://www.cmeoutfitters.com/.


NRHA commissioned the above piece from CME Outfitters, a trusted NRHA partner, for publication within the Association’s Rural Health Voices blog