What is PQRS?
The Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) was formally launched under a provision of the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006. In 2011, the program name was changed to Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS). The PQRS program provides a financial incentive to eligible professionals for voluntarily reporting data on specific quality measures applied to the Medicare population. Medicare Part C–Medicare Advantage beneficiaries are not included in this program. Under PQRS, incentives will be paid simply for satisfactorily reporting on designated quality measures. However, it is anticipated that PQRS eventually will be transitioned to a formal pay for performance model. CMS uses the word “report” to mean a claim form where the medical services reported (CPT codes and ICD-9 codes) indicate an opportunity for PQRS measure reporting. PQRS measures are available to indicate that the measure was performed, or not performed based on an acceptable exemption or exclusion. If a specific
