Quality, resource use reports prove valuable to family physicians | Courtesy of Shutterstock
+ Community
Amanda Rupp | Nov 4, 2016

Quality, resource use reports prove valuable to family physicians

According to a recent article from the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), family physicians should see Quality and Resource Use Reports (QRURs) as valuable tools for their businesses and patients alike.

QRURs come from the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). They are part of the final preparations to create an accountable care organization in health care. The reports show important insights for how a practice is running and how doctors can improve the quality and cost of care that their patients receive.

"You can see how you've done on quality metrics and get a 'viewfinder look' at how far your enterprise has come," Dr. Melissa Gerdes of Dallas said.

Unfortunately, family physicians have stated that they have difficulty finding reports through the CMS system. In addition, it is challenging to understand their reports, which can be formatted in a convoluted way.

Even though they face these difficulties, family physicians insist these tools are important for value-based health care systems.

"These reports are a core component of MIPS (Merit-based Incentive Payment System) going forward," Gerdes said. "The measurement period for MIPS begins Jan. 1, 2017, which will affect fee-for-service payment under Medicare in 2019."We've been talking about how these types of metrics are going to affect payments. That time is now here."

Organizations in this story

More News