As part of the National Quality Strategy, Health Care Excel (HCE), the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for Indiana, wants to partner with you to improve the delivery of health care to Medicare beneficiaries. Working with the organization, you can receive technical assistance, staff education, help interpreting and reporting data with an electronic health record (EHR) – and more – at no charge to you.

The QIO’s Improve Health for Population and Communities initiative has THREE projects, with some overlap, two of which have limited participation opportunities. All data are confidential, and any transmitted data are de-identified. Here are some details about each project.

1. EHR-Based Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS)

   HCE is working with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to support direct PQRS reporting with qualified EHR systems. Achieve successful reporting and earn incentive payments with help from HCE to include:

   • Enabling your EHR functionality to conduct PQRS reporting
   • Identifying where and how to record specific data elements for each measure
   • Establishing workflows for efficient, consistent data capture
   • Developing routine reports that allow monthly monitoring of PQRS measures

   This offer is open to 60 eligible “providers” only, so don’t delay.

2. Cardiac Population Health Learning Action Network (LAN)

   HCE and a variety of stakeholders seek to partner with physician offices in a three-year project to address smoking cessation, aspirin therapy, blood pressure and cholesterol control. Internal medicine, family practice and cardiology practices can benefit from webinar education, technical assistance and peer group learning. Participation is limited to 60 practices.

   With HCE assistance, you will submit quarterly reports indicating percentage of your Medicare patients in the measurement year:

   • With coronary artery or peripheral vascular disease whose recent blood pressure was ≤140/90 mm. Hg.
   • With ischemic vascular disease whose most recent LDL-C screening result was ≤100
   • With ischemic vascular disease with documented use of aspirin or other antithrombotic
   • Who smoke and receive smoking cessation counseling

   The goal is to have you deliver data until it becomes routine, maximizing functionality of your EHR system and earning meaningful use incentives.

3. Population Health Learning Action Network – Regional Extension Center-Assisted Practices

   This three-to-five year project aims to address smoking cessation, aspirin therapy, blood pressure and cholesterol control, as well as influenza and pneumococcal immunization, breast and colorectal cancer screening. Practices already working with Indiana’s two Regional Extension Centers (RECs) are invited to participate using HCE as a resource, whether or not you are enrolled in the other two projects.

   However, you must have a certified EHR system, the capability to e-prescribe, and run quality reports. You will receive assistance with choosing clinical quality measures on which to report. Join this project and you can:

   • Obtain technical assistance to help you use the registry or care management functions of your EHR, interpret EHR data, implement quality improvement and care management interventions
   • Utilize system feedback reports to drive quality improvement efforts
   • Participate in educational programs and access resources
   • Share and learn best practices to improve preventive and cardiac health

If you are interested in learning more about any of these projects, please call (812) 234-1499 and ask for a member of Health Care Excel’s Population Health team.

Determine whether your EHR system is PQRS certified by going here.