The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has posted the draft 2026 CMS Quality Reporting Document Architecture (QRDA) Category III Implementation Guide (IG) for Eligible Clinician public comment starting on May 29, 2025, and ending at 5 p.m. eastern time (ET) on June 17, 2025. The 2026 CMS QRDA III IG outlines requirements for eligible clinicians to report electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs) for the calendar year 2026 reporting period. Visit the QRDA Issue Tracker on the ONC Project Tracking System (Jira) website to submit comments.

The 2026 CMS QRDA III IG uses the same base Health Level 7 (HL7) QRDA III standard as the 2026 CMS QRDA I IG.

The draft 2026 CMS QRDA III IG contains the following high-level updates to support the 2026 reporting period.

• Removal of the Primary Care First (PCF) submission guidance
• Removal of the Making Care Primary (MCP) submission guidance

Please note, this is a draft document, and the contents are subject to change. Contents may change based on final rules and your comments. We look forward to receiving your feedback on the draft 2026 CMS QRDA III IG.