CMS released new data Aug. 10 on first-year provider participation for the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) and E-prescribing (e-Rx) program initiatives.
The report revealed that despite having better participation, PQRS participants fared worse on average bonus collection than successful e-prescribers by over $1,000 per provider.
Each e-Rx participant took home around $3,000 in comparison to PQRS providers who only nabbed $1,956, according to CMS’s report. But while participation has increased for both programs since 2009, the number of eligible PQRS providers greatly eclipsed those for e-Rx clocking in 119,804 and 48,354, respectively.
Other interesting tidbits from the report:
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In 2009, 13% of eligible professionals participated in e-Rx. (Less than 1% of eligible professionals reported the electronic prescribing measure under the Physician Quality Reporting System in 2008).
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The most commonly reported PQRS measure groups were Preventive Care and Diabetes.
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Some specialties participated more frequently in the 2009 programs than others. Emergency medicine physicians and anesthesiologists had the largest number of participants using PQRS claims-based reporting followed by internists and family practitioners.
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Top reported PQRS measures: 128 (universal weight screening and follow-up), 130 (documentation of current medications), 124 (HIT – adoption/use of EHRs), 114 (inquiry regarding tobacco use), and 173 (preventive care and screening for unhealthy alcohol use).