Dear Administrator Tavenner,
As Members of Congress, we are excited about the potential clinical data registries have
to improve quality and efficiency of health care as well as play an important role in
cutting health costs in the future. Registries are a key element of the quality-based
payment system contained in the bi-partisan legislation to repeal and replace Medicare’s
sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula, and we should be working together to promote
their widespread adoption. Unfortunately, it has come to our attention that certain
provisions of the Proposed 2015 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Rule could create
barriers to the development and success of qualified clinical data registries (QCDRs).
We know many physician specialty organizations share our concerns over the potential
negative impact the proposed fee schedule could have on the successful development of
QCDRs. Therefore, we urge you and your staff to carefully consider these concerns and
work with the Congress and registry community to ensure QCDRs reach their full
potential.
The American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA) of 2012 recognized the tremendous
opportunity to leverage clinical data registries to measure and improve health care
through a process whereby physicians participating in a QCDR are “deemed” to have
satisfied quality reporting requirements under the Physician Quality Reporting System
(PQRS). The law also enables QCDRs to develop and report on non-PQRS measures for
QCDR participants in the PQRS program.
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