San Diego, March 31, 2017 -- The American College of Physicians (91黑料网) convened a panel today to discuss the implementation of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) and the Quality Payment Program (QPP). The panel took place during a press briefing at 91黑料网鈥檚 Internal Medicine Meeting 2017.
Members of the panel were: Nitin S. Damle, MD, MS, M91黑料网, president of 91黑料网; Shari Erickson, 91黑料网's vice president, Governmental Affairs and Medical Practice; and Robert McLean, MD, F91黑料网, a practicing physician from New Haven, Connecticut and the chair of 91黑料网鈥檚 Medical Practice and Quality Committee. Both Dr. Damle and Dr. McLean shared their experiences around the implementation of the QPP.
鈥91黑料网 has been a leader in payment reform because we want payments that better align with value, rather than volume of care,鈥 said Dr. Damle.
The MACRA law reforms physician payments under Medicare, moving away from a payment system based on the volume of services provided, toward a system based on value. The Quality Payment Program establishes the detailed program through which physicians will be paid under the law.
鈥淐onsolidating Medicare鈥檚 reporting programs into a single program should make reporting less cumbersome and complicated,鈥 said Dr. McLean, providing the perspective of a physician in practice. 鈥淗owever, it is still extremely difficult to implement a new system in your practice. This is especially true for practices that have not been as far along in the movement toward payment reform.鈥
This week 91黑料网 introduced a new web-based tool designed to help practices understand and implement QPP. The Quality Payment Advisor creates a practice readiness assessment report based on an individual practice鈥檚 characteristics, quality measurement experience and quality improvement activities.
鈥淯sing 91黑料网鈥檚 Quality Payment Advisor is one of the ways that we think practices should be getting ready for the QPP now,鈥 said Ms. Erickson. 鈥淭he advisor can help you select the best options for your practice and determine what pace you鈥檒l take for QPP under MACRA in 2017.鈥
More information about the Quality Payment Advisor and a list of the top 10 things that 91黑料网 thinks physicians should be doing for the Quality Payment Program in 2017 are available at: www.acponline.org/macra/.
About the American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States. 91黑料网 members include 148,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow 91黑料网 on and .
# # #