FAQ Directory

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about NCQA’s various programs. If you don’t see what you are looking for in one of the entries below, you can  ask a question through My NCQA.

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2.15.2017 Effective date for Case Management Accreditation 2017 and Termination date of Case Management Accreditation 2014 When will the 2017 CM standards be effective and when will the 2014 CM standards year end?

The 2017 CM standards are effective on or after January 30, 2017. For organizations that have already scheduled a survey through June 30, the 2014 CM standards year will end on June 30, 2017. 

CM 2014

2.15.2017 Adolescent Well-Care Visits Does documentation of “Tanner stage” meet criteria for the physical exam or physical developmental history component for the Adolescent Well-Care Visits (AWC) measure?

Yes. Documentation of Tanner stage meets criteria for the physical exam and physical developmental components, but should not be double-counted toward both (if used as evidence of physical exam, it may not be used as evidence of physical developmental, and vice versa). Documentation of Tanner stage does not meet criteria for the Well-Child Visits in the First 15 Months of Life (W15) or Well-Child Visits in the Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Years of Life (W34) measures as sexual maturity rating is not recommended until 7 years of age.

HEDIS 2017

2.15.2017 Standardized Healthcare-Associated Infection Ratio In Table HAI-1/2/3, the four columns labeled “Percentage of Total Discharges From ...”. are collected in IDSS using 4 digits after the decimal. Because the columns are percentages, how should the data for these columns be displayed? For example, using HAI-1: Central line associated blood stream infection (CLABSI), if there are 100 contracted hospitals, of which 10 belong to “high” category of Standard Infection Ratio, what should the reported value be?
A) 0.1000
B) 10.0000

Option A. Organizations should report results as a decimal; therefore, option A is correct when reporting in IDSS. IDSS will include a validation that checks for values to be reported between 0 and 1 and must be rounded to 4 decimal places.

HEDIS 2017

2.15.2017 Standardized Healthcare-Associated Infection Ratio When reporting the columns “Percentage of Total Discharges From Hospitals With Unavailable SIR,” “Number of Contracted Hospitals With Reportable SIR” and “Total Inpatient Discharges” in Table HAI-1/2/3, if a hospital is not listed in Table HSIR, is it included in the count?

Hospitals for which plans have discharges from but are not identifiable in Table HSIR should not be included in the hospitals reported in the category "Number of Contracted Hospitals With Reportable SIR." However, discharges from these hospitals should be included in “Total Inpatient Discharges” and in “Percentage of Total Discharges From Hospitals With Unavailable SIR.” Use Table HSIR posted on the NCQA Web site to make the determination; organizations do not need to refer to the Hospital Compare web site.

HEDIS 2017

2.13.2017 Proportion of Days Covered by Medications (PDC) Are the PDC denominator exclusions required, or optional?

All PDC denominator exclusions are required if the data are available.

IHA 2016

2.13.2017 General Guidelines Should the Value Based P4P General Guideline 19: Members in Hospice guideline apply to all clinical measures? The note that appears in most measures referencing this exclusion and guideline does not appear in the ENRST, PDC or HRM measures.

Yes. Value Based P4P General Guideline 19: Members in Hospice should apply to all clinical measures, including ENRST, PDC and HRM. We will add a note to all clinical measure specifications for the next release of the manual.  

IHA 2016

2.13.2017 Advancing Care Information (ACI) Domain The note on page 143 of the MY 2016 Value Based P4P Manual states: Include all payer types in e-Measure reporting; do not limit to commercial HMO/POS.
For each e-measure, should the patient-level numerator and denominators (Rate 2: PO-level aggregated performance) be limited to the managed care population only, or include all members?

The Value Based P4P program intends to measure all commercial HMO/POS members, but we understand that not all POs can limit their numerators and denominators to specific product lines. For this reason, and because VBP4P is not currently scoring the PO-level aggregated performance, POs may include all payer types. If the PO has the ability to limit the patient population to just commercial HMO/POS, that is also accepted.

IHA 2016

2.13.2017 Advancing Care Information (ACI) Domain Our PO does not have an integrated EHR system, and some of our providers may have contracts with other POs. For each e-measure, should the patient level numerator and denominators (Rate 2: PO-level aggregated performance) be limited to our PO’s members only, or include all patients for the provider?

Based on the potential burden of reporting PO-specific membership and because VBP4P is not currently scoring the PO-level aggregated performance rate, POs may include all patients for the provider. If the provider has the ability to only include the PO’s members, that is also accepted.

IHA 2016

1.15.2017 Reporting RRU Measures for HEDIS 2017 Should health plans report the RRU measures for HEDIS 2017?

No. NCQA suspended collection of the RRU measures for HEDIS 2017 and health plans should not report RRU measures for HEDIS 2017. In 2017 NCQA will decide whether to permanently retire these measures. NCQA will hold a public comment process to aid in the decision. 

HEDIS 2017

1.15.2017 Relative Resource Use for People with Diabetes Should Marketplace plans report the Relative Resource Use for People with Diabetes (RDI) measure for 2017?

No. The RDI measure will be removed from the Quality Rating System. For Marketplace plans, CMS will issue guidance, including, but not limited to, FAQs, updates to the 2017 Technical Guidance and the 2017 Call Letter.

Exchange 2017

1.15.2017 Statin Therapy for Patients With Cardiovascular Disease There appear to be additional NDC codes for high- and moderate-intensity statins included in the NDC list for SPD-A that are not in SPC-B. May these additional codes be mapped to the HEDIS 2017 NDC list for table SPC-B?

Yes. Organizations may map NDC codes so that the same set of codes for high-intensity and moderate-intensity statins are used for both the SPC-B and SPD-A measures. An NDC code that is not on the HEDIS list may be used if its generic name, strength/dose and route match an NDC code on the HEDIS list. Organizations should document the method used to map codes: Mapping is subject to review during a HEDIS Compliance Audit. Requirements for mapping are described in General Guideline 50 in HEDIS 2017 Volume 2.

HEDIS 2017

1.15.2017 UM 7 B: Specific criterion referenced in a denial decision In UM 7, Element B, factor 2, organizations are required to reference the specific criterion used to make a denial decision. How specific does the criterion need to be?

The criterion referenced must be identifiable by name and must be specific to an organization or source (e.g., ABC PBM’s Criteria for Treatment of Hypothyroidism with Synthroid or CriteriaCompany Inc.’s Guidelines for Wound Treatment). If it is clear that the criterion is attributable to the organization, it is acceptable to state “our Criteria for XXX” (e.g., our Criteria for Treating High Cholesterol with Lipitor).

Note: This also applies to Element E and Element H in HPA and Element E in UM-CR.

UM-CR 2016