The ACR® Merit-based Improvement Payment System (MIPS) Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR) is approved by CMS for MIPS participation in 2021. Fourteen QCDR measures spanning two NRDR data registries are approved for inclusion in the QCDR, along with 48 MIPS measures.
MIPS QCDR users can report a combination of QCDR and MIPS measures to fulfill reporting requirements for the Quality category. Participants can also use the MIPS Participation Portal to select Improvement Activities category items and attest to completing the Promoting Interoperability measures.
The end of the MIPS 2021 performance period is fast approaching. Please review the important deadlines below for successfully submitting your data to CMS through the MIPS QCDR.
- Oct. 31, 2021: Facilities must have begun submitting data to all registries they intend to use for MIPS reporting.
- Jan. 31, 2022: All data from 2021 should be submitted to QCDR.
- March 15, 2022: Payment due for all MIPS eligible physicians; sites will not be able to submit data until payment is received.
- March 31, 2022: MIPS submission window closes at 8pm ET; CMS will not accept any submissions after that point.
QCDR Approval for 2022
National Radiology Data Registry (NRDR®) again is approved to provide QCDR services to registry participants. ACR’s QCDR will continue to offer MIPS measures as well as QCDR measures, with the notable addition of nine new measures licensed from the MSN Healthcare Solutions QCDR.
Simplified GRID 2.0 Measures for QCDR Reporting
The ACR QCDR team is excited to officially announce a new, simplified method for submitting GRID 2.0 measures using the MIPS Participation Portal. These measures include:
- ACRad 36: Incidental Coronary Artery Calcification Reported on Chest CT.
- ACRad 37: Interpretation of CT Pulmonary Angiography (CTPA) for Pulmonary Embolism.
- ACRad 38: Use of Low-Dose Cranial CT or MRI Examinations for Patients with Ventricular Shunts.
- ACRad 39: Use of Low-Dose CT Studies for Adults with Suspicion of Urolithiasis or Nephrolithiasis.
- ACRad 40: Use of Structured Reporting in Prostate MRI.
- ACRad 41: Use of Quantitative Criteria for Oncologic FDG PET Imaging.
- ACRad 42: Surveillance Imaging for Liver Nodules <10mm in Patients at Risk for Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC).
MIPS participants can now submit these GRID measures using templates similar to the spreadsheet and text files used for submitting MIPS data. These files are uploaded via the MIPS Participation Portal under the Upload Data tab and do not require GRID registration to submit. For users who prefer submitting measures through the GRID registry, this method is still available.
Performance feedback for all measures (including the GRID 2.0 measures) is available in the Performance Report tab of the MIPS Participation Portal. GRID measures submitted using the MIPS portal will appear as “QACRad” rather than “ACRad” to differentiate them from measures that originated from GRID data.
Getting Started
Below are some links to help you get started:
- GRID 2.0 Simplified Measure Specifications.
- Excel Submission Template.
- Excel File Specifications.
- Text Submission Template.
- Text File Specifications.
For more information, view this on-demand webinar that walks users through the submission process. If you have questions about how to get started, please open a NRDR support ticket.