Webinar Update from CMS

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Provider Communications Group will host a national provider conference call on the 2011 Physician Quality Reporting System and Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program.

The eRx Incentive Program is an incentive program for eligible professionals initially implemented in 2009 as a result of section 132(b) of the MIPPA.  The eRx Incentive Program promotes the adoption and use of eRx systems by individual eligible professionals and beginning with the 2010 eRx Incentive Program, group practices.

National Provider Call and Webinar with Question & Answer Session

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Provider Communications Group will host a national provider conference call on the 2011 Physician Quality Reporting System and Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program.

This toll-free call will take place from 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m., EST, on Tuesday, January 18, 2011.

The Physician Quality Reporting System is voluntary quality reporting program that provides an incentive payment to identified individual eligible professionals (EPs), and beginning with the 2010 Physician Quality Reporting System, group practices who satisfactorily report data on quality measures for covered Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) services furnished to Medicare Part B Fee-For-Service (FFS) beneficiaries. The Physician Quality Reporting System was first implemented in 2007 as a result of section 101 of the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 (TRHCA), and further expanded as a result of the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 (MMSEA), and the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA).

The eRx Incentive Program is an incentive program for eligible professionals initially implemented in 2009 as a result of section 132(b) of the MIPPA.  The eRx Incentive Program promotes the adoption and use of eRx systems by individual eligible professionals and beginning with the 2010 eRx Incentive Program, group practices.

Following the formal presentation that will cover the following:

• Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program Payment Adjustment;
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) Incentive Program Differences; and
• Electronic Health Record (EHR) Submission.

The lines will be opened to allow participants to ask questions of CMS Physician Quality Reporting System and eRx subject matter experts.

A PowerPoint slide presentation will be posted to the Physician Quality Reporting System webpage at, https://www.cms.gov/PQRI/04_CMSSponsoredCalls.asp on the CMS website for you to download prior to the call so that you can follow along with the presenter. 

Educational products are available on the Physician Quality Reporting System dedicated web page located at, https://www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI, on the CMS website, in the Educational Resources section,as well as educational products are available on the eRx Incentive Program dedicated web page located at https://www.cms.hhs.gov/ERxIncentive on the CMS website. Feel free to download the resources prior to the call so that you may ask questions of the CMS presenters.

Conference call details:

Date:  January 18, 2011

Conference Title:  Physician Quality Reporting System & Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program National Provider Call

Time:   1:30 p.m. EST                     

In order to receive the call-in information, you must register for the call. It is important to note that if you are planning to sit in with a group, only one person needs to register to receive the call-in data.  This registration is solely to reserve a phone line, NOT to allow participation. 

Registration will close at 1:30 p.m. EST on January 17, 2011, or when available space has been filled.  No exceptions will be made, so please be sure to register prior to this time.

1. To register for the call participants need to go to: https://www.eventsvc.com/palmettogba/011811   
2. Fill in all required data. 
3. Verify that your time zone is displayed correctly in the drop down box.
4. Click "Register".
5. You will be taken to the “Thank you for registering” page and will receive a confirmation email shortly thereafter.   Note:Please print and save this page, in the event that your server blocks the confirmation emails.  If you do not receive the confirmation email, please check your spam/junk mail filter as it may have been directed there.
6. CMS will be adding a webinar as part of this national conference call. This feature will allow participants who are on the Internet the ability to follow the presentation online as it is given. This will not have any effect on those participants who are only dialing in to the audio portion of the call.

Please note participants who are not signed into the webinar should download the presentation from the CMS website. CMS would like to thank those of you who will participate in this feature.

To access Adobe Connect Pro Webinar: please use the following URL: https://webinar.CMS.hhs.gov/PQRSandERX–Instructions:Sign in as a “Guest” when prompted – please enter your first and last name.

Please dial in for the call first and then go to Adobe Connect Pro. Thank you.

If assistance for hearing impaired services is needed the request must be sent to medicare.ttt@palmettogba.com no later than 3 business day before the event.

For those of who will be unable to attend, a transcript and MP3 file of the call will be available at least one week after the call at https://www.cms.hhs.gov/pqri on the CMS website.

Source: CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES