With the emphasis on flexibility and ease of data exchange, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) renamed the Advancing Care Information (ACI) to Promoting Interoperability (PI). WHN practices have raised concerns over challenges in reporting this category. The score of each practice affects the score for the ACO. A low score or failure to submit will lower the overall score for WHN and all participants.
WHN wrote to selected WHN participants regarding the submission of a hardship application on their behalf to CMS (a new option for 2018), excluding them from the PI category reporting requirement.
Practices excluded from the PI category reporting will be treated as “exempt” and will not be penalized for not reporting the PI category. The reporting exclusion will not negatively impact practices.
Qualifying Criteria
MIPS-eligible clinicians in small practices
MIPS-eligible clinicians using decertified EHR technology
Insufficient Internet connectivity
Extreme and uncontrollable circumstances
Lack of control over the availability of CEHRT
In order to qualify, a practice was required to meet at least one of the above criteria.
