APMA News - September/October 2017 - 50

IT Consultant
By James R. Christina, DPM, and
Dyane Tower, DPM, MPH, MS

Understanding the APMA Registry
The APMA Registry has been approved by CMS as a QualCompleting the online APMA Registry Access Request
Form is the first step in the registration process. APMA will
ified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR) for 2017. But what exactthen contact you to complete a Business Associate/Data Use
ly does that mean, and as an APMA member, how can you use
Agreement (BA/DUA) that meets HIPAA requirements for subthe APMA Registry?
mission of data to the registry. After you register, APMA will
Because it is a QCDR, you may submit components of the
Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) to the APMA
contact you when this document is available for completion.
You have signed up online and completed your BA/DUA-
Registry. The three components of MIPS for the 2017 perfornow what? The next steps will depend on several factors. First,
mance year are:
Quality-which involves
you will have to decide which comsubmitting quality meaponents of MIPS you plan to report
The bottom line: The APMA
for the 2017 performance year. The
sures very similar to what
Registry will be available for
existed in the Physician
ACI and Improvement Activities
Quality Reporting System;
are reported by attestation, so all
submission of at least some
Advancing Care InformaAPMA members who complete
MIPS components for all APMA
tion (ACI)-which retains
their registration (including the BA/
many of the components of
DUA) with the APMA Registry will
members participating in MIPS
what was formerly Meanbe able to attest to these compofor the 2017 performance year.
ingful Use; and
nents through the registry. AttestaClinical Practice Improvetion will occur between January 2
ment Activities (or Improvement Activities)-a new
and March 31, 2018. APMA will send information to all memcategory of activities.
bers who complete their registration with instructions on how to
complete the attestation for these two MIPS components.
The components of MIPS and how to participate to achieve
The remaining component of MIPS is Quality. For you to
the maximum score (or how to just avoid the penalty) have
use the APMA Registry to submit the Quality component,
been covered in detail previously and can be found at www.
your EHR vendor will need to have completed integration
apma.org/macra.
with the APMA Registry. Although APMA has reached out to
So, as an APMA member, how do you use the APMA Regmany vendors, for 2017, there will probably be very few venistry to submit the required components of MIPS?
dors that complete the integration process. APMA will keep the
First, you need to sign up for the APMA Registry. It is quick
membership updated on vendors as they integrate, but unless
your vendor assures you it will complete the integration, you
and easy, but you should be prepared with your individual
(not group) National Provider Identifier (NPI) number and Tax
should probably plan to submit the Quality component for
ID Number (TIN) and you should know if you want to report
the 2017 performance year with a different registry or by a diffor MIPS as an individual or as a group (find more information
ferent method (e.g., claims). Also, if your vendor integrates, you
on individual or group reporting at https://qpp.cms.gov/mips/
will have to select from the 11 measures the APMA Registry has
individual-or-group-participation). For group submission
indicated to CMS it will report as a QCDR (the list is available at
through the APMA Registry, each member of your group should
www.apma.org/registry).
sign up with his or her individual NPI and the TIN that the
The bottom line: The APMA Registry will be available for
group bills under. The Quality Payment Program for Medicare
submission of at least some MIPS components for all APMA
does not use a group NPI number. As each member of the group
members participating in MIPS for the 2017 performance year.
signs up, he or she should indicate he or she is going to report
APMA will continue to expand the registry's capabilities and
as a group. You can check your participation status for MIPS
functions in 2018 and beyond to serve the needs of members.n
using your NPI number (remember you must meet the qualifications for each NPI/TIN under which you bill). Once you have
Contact Dr. Christina at jrchristina@apma.org, and
all the information, you can go to www.apma.org/registry to
contact Dr. Tower at detower@apma.org.
sign up.

50 APMA News September/October 2017

http://www.apma.org/macra http://www.apma.org/macra https://qpp.cms.gov/mips/individual-or-group-participation https://qpp.cms.gov/mips/individual-or-group-participation http://www.apma.org/registry http://www.apma.org/registry

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of APMA News - September/October 2017