Draft 2018 CMS QRDA HQR Implementation Guide Now Available for Public Comment

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has posted the draft 2018 Quality Reporting Document Architecture (QRDA) Implementation Guide (IG) for Hospital Quality Reporting (HQR) in JIRA (ticket number QRDA-514). The deadline to submit a public comment on the 2018 CMS QRDA HQR IG is Monday, May 22nd, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. ET. A JIRA account is required to submit a formal comment, and information on how to set up or troubleshoot your JIRA account is available on the JIRA site.

Please note: the QRDA HQR IG is a draft document and the contents are subject to change.

Draft 2018 CMS QRDA HQR IG:

· The draft 2018 CMS QRDA HQR IG provides implementation guidance for CMS’ Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Program and the Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs for Eligible Hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs).

· This guide serves as a companion to the base HL7 QRDA I Implementation Guide for entities such as Eligible Hospitals, CAHs, and vendors to submit QRDA Category I (QRDA I) data for consumption by CMS systems, including the HQR system.

The draft 2018 CMS QRDA HQR Implementation Guide contains the following changes/corrections from the 2017 CMS QRDA Implementation Guide:
· The draft 2018 CMS QRDA HQR IG is based on the HL7 Implementation Guide for CDA Release 2: QRDA Category I, Release 1, Standard for Trial Use (STU) Release 4, US Realm, Jan 2017.
· The CMS EHR Certification Number is required.
· The inclusion of a Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) in lieu of a Healthcare Insurance Claim (HIC) number to support CMS’s transition from HIC to MBI for beneficiary identification is optional.

For More Information

You can find additional QRDA-related resources, as well as current and past implementation guides, on the CMS eCQM Library and the Electronic Clinical Quality Improvement (eCQI) Resource Center.

We look forward to receiving your feedback on the Draft 2018 CMS QRDA HQR IG.