SPH Analytics, the top ranked MACRA and MIPS Technology vendor, announced today its approval by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to participate in the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) for 2018 as both a Qualified Registry and a Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR). QCDRs can report data for individual clinicians or groups on all MIPS performance categories that require data submission. Further, a QCDR can host “non-MIPS” measures approved by CMS for reporting.

The SPH Analytics Population Care™ solution set includes an end-to-end solution for MIPS eligible clinicians to not only fulfill reporting requirements under Medicare’s Quality Payment Program (QPP), but to monitor, manage, and improve performance throughout the data collection year to optimize measure performance and reimbursement.

As a CMS-approved QCDR, SPH’s Population Care aggregates, normalizes, and enriches EMR data from physician practices and displays it on a clinical measure dashboard that tracks MIPS measure progress for up-to-date performance tracking. SPH specializes in ensuring that all relevant data is retrieved from the EMR for quality measure purposes, even when a practice has non-codified data in its EMR. This data acquisition and quality checking process ensures that every measure is maximized, going far beyond the basic requirement of submission data to CMS. In addition, SPH can provide consulting services to maximize MIPS performance, including measure selection, coding enhancements, data completeness improvement, maximizing bonus opportunities, and navigating the new 2018 regulations, such as the improvement scoring.

“Our Population Care solution leverages our proprietary expertise in data acquisition and data mining, supplemented by robust underlying algorithms which present valuable insights that allow daily visibility to performance and targets to improve performance all year long,” said Amy Amick CEO of SPH Analytics. “The solution goes well beyond simply a tool to comply with annual MIPS submission of a practice’s highest performing six measures. Far more critical, the solution provides easy visibility into how a provider can improve quality and effectiveness of care every day of the year.”

As a thought leader in the space, SPH Analytics hosted an informational webinar on December 13 highlighting 2018 MIPS updates. To view a recording of this webinar, visit http://www.sphanalytics.com/2018-mips-update-webinar-recording/.

SPH’s Population Care includes unique features that enable providers to maximize their MIPS Quality and Composite scores, and ultimately their reimbursement. Population Care’s innovative feature set includes: 

•     Collection and validation of codified and non-codified data from a large number of EMR systems
•     Library of eCQMs (electronic clinical quality measures) and registry-based measures to choose from, including the CMS Web Interface (CMS WI) measures that all MSSPs must report
•     Option to build new measures
•     Clinical measure dashboard with frequent data refresh
•     Many measures overlap with HEDIS and Medicare STARS, and since the patient data is Medicare and non-Medicare, the dashboard can be used to monitor all-payer quality initiatives
•     Dashboard calculates both individual provider and group level reporting simultaneously
•     Display of top six performing measures
•     Drill down to patient list to close care gaps and improve performance
•     Trending against benchmarks and goals
•     Annual CMS submission of quality measures (6 measures including 1 outcome or high priority measure)
•     SPH can submit data for individuals, groups, and the new 2018 reporting option for Virtual Groups.
•     Bonus points in the MIPS Quality scoring section for eCQMs gathered and reported via a QCDR
•     Optional CAHPS for MIPS Survey that counts as a patient experience measure in the MIPS Quality performance category

SPH is also a CMS-approved vendor for the CAHPS for MIPS Survey. SPH’s Population Care™ patient registry can also earn providers credits in the Advancing Care Information and Improvement Activity performance categories, helping to comprehensively support a providers participation in the MIPS program.

Earning CMS certification as a Qualified Registry and QCDR is just one of the ways that SPH Analytics helps empower value-based care through clinical, financial, and experience solutions that help healthcare providers and health plans achieve the Triple Aim.

CAHPS® is a registered trademark of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).