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11.15.2017 Hospitalization for Potentially Preventable Complications On Page 37 of the HEDIS 2018 Volume 2 Technical Update memo, the “Number of Chronic ACSC Non-Outliers and Acute ACSC Non-Outliers” and “Number of Chronic ACSC Outliers and Acute ACSC Outliers” reporting categories have the same description.
Should the first reporting category listed above state ‘non-outlier’ instead of ‘outlier’?

Yes; the specifications should read “Reporting: Number of Chronic ACSC Non-Outliers and Acute ACSC Non-Outliers:The number of chronic ACSC non-outlier members and the number of acute ACSC non-outliers for each age and gender group and the overall total.”

HEDIS 2018

11.15.2017 Weeks of Pregnancy at Time of Enrollment The HEDIS 2018 Volume 2 Technical Update memo includes a RAND number for the “Weeks of Pregnancy at Time of Enrollment” measure. Is this correct?

No. “Weeks of Pregnancy at Time of Enrollment (WOP)” was retired in HEDIS 2017; the RAND number was inadvertently included in the HEDIS 2018 Volume 2 Technical Update memo.

HEDIS 2018

11.15.2017 Supplemental Data Is it acceptable to flag records in a supplemental data file as paid or denied when there is no payment attached to the records in the file?

No. It is not acceptable to classify a supplemental data source as paid or denied unless it is known whether the data in the data source were paid or denied. This is especially true when the data are being used for measures that require claims payment statuses (e.g. LBP, NCS). Organizations should not assume services were denied services just because there isn't a payment status associated with them. For measures where payment status is required, the auditor must be able to validate that the payment status is accurate.

HEDIS 2018

11.15.2017 Reporting Requirements The HEDIS 2018 Volume 2 Technical Update memo announced the retirement of “Annual Monitoring for Patients on Persistent Medications (MPM)” for Medicare and the name change from “Inpatient Hospital Utilization (IHU)” to “Acute Hospital Utilization (AHU).” This caused a discrepancy between the CMS Reporting Memo and HEDIS 2018 Volume 2 Technical Specifications. Will CMS release a clarification on what must be reported for HEDIS 2018 for Medicare?

Yes. CMS released a clarification on October 11, 2017, through HPMS, announcing that MPM was retired and is not required for HEDIS 2018 reporting; it also clarified that “Inpatient Hospital Utilization” is now “Acute Hospital Utilization” and should be reported as the updated measure. If you have additional questions, contact CMS at HEDISquestions@cms.hhs.gov.

HEDIS 2018

11.15.2017 Use of Opioids at High Dosage In the HEDIS 2018 Volume 2 Technical Update memo Table UOD-A includes a variable ranging from 4-12 for the MED Conversion Factor for methadone based on mg/day of methadone used. However, in the HEDIS 2018 NDC MLD Directory all NDCs for Methadone under the medication list "Opioid Medication" have a MED Conversion Factor (column M) of 3. For performing the MED calculation in UOD, which MED Conversion Factor should be used for methadone?

For HEDIS 2018 reporting, for methadone, the MED conversion factor of "3" should be used as listed in the NDC list; not the factors listed in Table UOD-A. We will reevaluate using the sliding scale conversion factors for HEDIS 2019.

HEDIS 2018

11.15.2017 General Guidelines General Guideline 17 says that "Members with dual commercial and Medicaid coverage must be reported in the commercial HEDIS reports. These members may be excluded from the Medicaid HEDIS reports." If a member has primary insurance in a Medicaid plan and secondary insurance in another Medicaid plan at any time during the measurement year, should the secondary Medicaid plan report the member in their HEDIS report?

To meet criteria for dual coverage, the member should have dual coverage at the end of the continuous enrollment period (dual coverage is assessed on a measure-by-measure basis). For example, if a measure's continuous enrollment period ends on December 31 of the MY and has dual Medicaid and commercial enrollment on that date, then the member may be excluded from the Medicaid HEDIS reports for the measure and only be reported in the commercial product line (General Guideline 23 in HEDIS 2018 Volume 2). In cases where the member is dually enrolled in two Medicaid plans, the secondary Medicaid payer would have the choice to exclude the member if the primary Medicaid coverage was offered through a different organization.

HEDIS 2018

11.15.2017 DEA or CDS Certificates Is a photocopy of a practitioner's DEA certificate acceptable documentation for CR 3, Element A, factor 2?

Yes. Although photocopies are generally not acceptable documentation for verifying credentialing information, they are accepted for DEA certification because the DEA does not provide phone or written verification.

HP 2017

11.15.2017 The Value-based Payment worksheet What is the Value-Based Payment worksheet for PHM 3B, and where can we find it?

The Value-Based Payment worksheet gives instructions on required reporting to satisfy element PHM 3B: Value-Based Payment Arrangements. It is a workbook that must be completed as part of the survey tool.

HP 2018

11.15.2017 Guidelines for Calculations and Sampling The footnote on page 45 of HEDIS 2018 Volume 2 indicates that the lowest Prior Year rate from “Prenatal and Postpartum Care” and “Frequency of Prenatal Care” should be used to reduce the sample size for PPC. Given that FPC was retired with the HEDIS 2018 Volume 2 Technical Update, should the PPC MRSS use the lower rate of the Postpartum and Prenatal care indicators?

Yes. With the retirement of the FPC measure, organizations may reduce the sample size for the PPC measure using the lowest rate of the 2 indicators from the current year’s administrative rate or the prior year’s audited, product line-specific rate.

HEDIS 2018

11.15.2017 Updated: Timeliness of postservice appeal decisions for Medicare and Medicaid Does the recent change for Medicare and Medicaid postservice appeals from 60 calendar days to 30 calendar days align with Chapter 13 of the Medicare Managed Care Manual?

No. Medicare product lines continue to follow the 60-calendar-day time frame for postservice appeals.

Note: The requirement is correct for Medicare product lines; Medicaid product lines continue to follow the 30-calendar-day time frame for postservice appeals.

HP 2018

11.09.2017 Additional Resources Are there any outside resources that may help me in the PCMH transformation process?

Content AreaCriteriaResource LinkDescription
TC02http://www.ihi.org/resources/Pages/Changes/OptimizetheCareTeam.aspxResource on how to optimize staff responsibilities
 02https://www.integration.samhsa.gov/operations-administration/OATI_Tool3_ART.pdfToolkit on how to optimize administrative staff responsibilities to benefit clinical practice
 02http://www.improvingprimarycare.org/team/pcpResource on how to optimize staff responsibilities
 04https://www.stepsforward.org/modules/pfacModule teaching how to create a patient advisory council
 07http://www.nachc.org/research-and-data/prapare/toolkit/Toolkit to better understand social determinants of health
 08https://integrationacademy.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/AHRQ_AcademyGuidebook.pdfInformation on behavioral healthcare integration in primary practice
KM02 Ghttps://healthleadsusa.org/resources/the-health-leads-screening-toolkit/Social needs screening toolkit
 12https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2012/p0614_preventive_health.htmlDiscussion on benefits of preventative care
 14https://www.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/professionals/quality-patient-safety/patient-safety-resources/resources/match/match.pdfGuide to medication reconciliation at transitions
 16http://www.teachbacktraining.org/Information on teach back training
 17http://www.improvingprimarycare.org/work/medication-managementGuide to medication management
 24https://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/education/curriculum-tools/shareddecisionmaking/index.htmlToolkit for shared decision making
 24http://msdmc.org/3-assess/Toolkit for shared decision making
 24https://shareddecisions.mayoclinic.org/Informative website about shared decision making
 13http://www.jabfm.org/content/28/2/170.full.pdf  "Patient Empanelment: The Importance of Understanding Who Is at Home in a Medical Home"
AC13http://www.annfammed.org/content/10/5/396.full "Estimating a Reasonable Patient Panel Size for Primary Care Physicians With Team-Based Task Delegation"
  http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/files/publications/issue-brief/2014/aug/1764_hong_caring_for_high_need_high_cost_patients_ccm_ib.pdfArticle discussing benefits and strategies to care management
CM03https://nf.aafp.org/Shop/practice-transformation/risk-stratified-care-mgmt-rubricRisk stratification rubric available to members of the AAFP
 03http://www.calquality.org/storage/documents/cqc_complexcaremanagement_toolkit_final.pdfRisk stratification rubric from California Quality Collaborative
 03http://www.millimanriskadjustment.com/MARA  – The Milliman Advanced Risk Adjuster is a model of risk stratification in which risk scores are normalized to a given population.
 04http://www.aafp.org/fpm/2015/0100/fpm20150100p7-rt1.pdfCare Plan template from AAFP, not exclusive to members
 06http://www.dartmouthatlas.org/downloads/reports/preference_sensitive.pdfResource on how to incorporate patient preference into care management
 08http://www.ihi.org/resources/pages/tools/selfmanagementtoolkitforclinicians.aspxToolkit to aid clinicians in promoting self-management
 08https://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/prevention-chronic-care/improve/self-mgmt/index.htmlResources on self management
 08http://champsonline.org/tools-products/clinical-resources/patient-education-tools/patient-self-management-toolsCondition specific self management tools
 08https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/Article discussing proper communication between primary and specialist clinicians
CC14http://nihcr.org/analysis/improving-care-delivery/prevention-improving-health/ed-coordination/Information on improving communication between emergency and primary physicians
 16https://share.kaiserpermanente.org/article/kaiser-permanente-study-finds-tailored-post-hospital-visits-lower-risk-readmission-medicare-advantage-patients/Article discussing advantages of post hospital primary care visits
QI https://www.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/publications/files/pcmhqi2.pdfResource for building quality improvement in primary care
 03http://www.ihi.org/resources/Pages/Measures/ThirdNextAvailableAppointment.aspxInformation on how to utlize third next available appointment measurement
 08https://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/prevention-chronic-care/improve/system/pfhandbook/mod4.htmlBenefits of PDSA cycle

PCMH 2017

10.15.2017 ECDS If case management data are used only by behavioral health-care providers (not by primary care providers), may these data be an ECDS data source?

Case management data may be used for measures using the ECDS reporting method if the information collected by case managers is available on request to all providers treating the same member in another setting. 
Data are not required to be accessed to qualify for ECDS reporting, but must be available on request to providers providing care to the member.

HEDIS 2018