In order to encourage the adoption and use of e-prescribing, Congress (under the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008) authorized the creation of a new and separate program to report on e-prescribing quality measures.
In the 2008 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI), e-prescribing was one quality measure (measure #125) that physicians could report on. Beginning January 1, 2009, the e-prescribing quality measure will be removed from the PQRI, and it will instead become the quality measure used in the E-prescribing Incentive Program, which is a claim-based program.
This means that a physician or other eligible professional could potentially receive two incentive payments:
- an incentive payment for being a “successful e-prescriber” for reporting the e-prescribing quality measure under the E-prescribing Incentive Program
- an incentive payment for satisfactorily submitting data on other quality measures under the PQRI
E-prescribing incentive will be 2 percent of the total estimated allowed charges for professional services covered by Medicare Part B and furnished by an eligible professional during the reporting period (one calendar year).
Who is eligible for the incentive?
To be eligible for the incentive in 2009, you must be an eligible professional whose estimated allowed Medicare Part B charges for the e-prescribing measure codes are at least 10 percent of your total Medicare Part B allowed charges.
What is a successful e-prescriber?
To be a successful e-prescriber in 2009, you must report the e-prescribing quality measure through your Medicare Part B claims on at least 50 percent of applicable cases during the reporting year.
For more information about the E-prescribing Incentive Program , please visit the CMS website.
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