ECP's 2010 PQRI Participation Strategy

By Rod Baird w/ clinical review by Bob Wells, MD CMD & Enrique Varela, MD CMD

 

Note to readers – the following article is written for understanding, not exact technical accuracy. Some elements of the PQRI program are ignored since they do not apply to the clinical situations covered by clinicians working for ECP.

 

PQRI is shorthand for The Physicians Quality Reporting Initiative, which was established by law and implemented by CMS in 2007. Clinicians who participate in the program, by reporting on selected ‘quality measures’, can earn an incentive payment. Currently that payment is set at 2% of allowable Medicare Charges. Each quality measure applies to a defined set of individuals. The criteria for the set include patient demographics (age, sex, and diagnosis) and Clinical parameters (type of treating provider and CPT code).

 

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Conveniently timed study on benefits of eHealth

Here is a citation to a British article in the Public Library of Science-Medicine journal

Article Here

This meta analysis finds minimal demonstrable benefit from EMR or other technologies:

Conclusions

There is a large gap between the postulated and empirically demonstrated benefits of eHealth technologies. In addition, there is a lack of robust research on the risks of implementing these technologies and their cost-effectiveness has yet to be demonstrated, despite being frequently promoted by policymakers and “techno-enthusiasts” as if this was a given. In the light of the paucity of evidence in relation to improvements in patient outcomes, as well as the lack of evidence on their cost-effectiveness, it is vital that future eHealth technologies are evaluated against a comprehensive set of measures, ideally throughout all stages of the technology's life cycle. Such evaluation should be characterised by careful attention to socio-technical factors to maximise the likelihood of successful implementation and adoption.

 
 
 
 
 

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