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EH/CAH eCQMs - Eligible Hospitals/Critical Access Hospitals
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Resolution: Answered
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Moderate
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None
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None
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CMS0506v6
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Patients that have a discharge disposition of "expired" are in the IPP for the measure and then excluded. In validating a case CMS failed us because a patient that expired was in the IPP.
Our hospital was under CMS validation. One of the charts requested was for the Safe Use of Opioids (CMS-506) eCQM. The patient qualified for the measure because he was an inpatient less than 120 days, was over 18 years old and was on a Scheduled II and III Opioid" medication at discharge with a discharge status of "expired". The eCQM outcome according to our vendor code was "excluded". The CMS validator indicated the patient should not have been in the measure population as there would be no opioids or benzodiazepines at discharge due to the discharge status. The way our EHR works is that home medications documented can automatically be listed as discharge medications when the patient is discharged no matter what the discharge status was. The discharge status of "expired" does not automatically discontinue medications. I am asking the measure stewards to consider that patients that expired be excluded from the IPP rather than being excluded later in the algorithm. Otherwise CMS validators will continue to fail these cases even though the EHR vendors are following the measure algorithm.