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2008 NewsWCHQ Selected as Qualified Registry for 2008 Physician Quality Reporting InitiativeSeptember 11, 2008 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has selected the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality (WCHQ) as an approved registry for submitting quality data for the 2008 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI). PQRI is a voluntary program that provides a financial incentive to healthcare providers who successfully report quality outcomes data for their Medicare patients. As a CMS-approved registry, WCHQ will help healthcare providers report on a designated set of quality measures to earn a bonus payment of 1.5 percent of the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for the 2008 reporting period. This payment will increase to 2.0 percent for the 2009 PQRI initiative. While the PQRI program is currently a pay-for-reporting program, it is widely believed to be a precursor to a CMS pay-for-performance program. Pay-for-performance programs have existed for many years and are continually growing in popularity and financial importance. The WCHQ registry tool could be used to help organizations participate in bonus payment programs outside of and in addition to PQRI. |