CMS Approves 45 Measures For Use in ASA QCDR

Physician anesthesiologists seeking to satisfactorily participate in a Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR) under the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) for 2016 will have 45 measures to choose from via the ASA QCDR in 2016. The available 26 PQRS measures are listed on the

AQI website alongside the specifications for the available 19 non-PQRS QCDR measures. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved these measures for reporting via the ASA QCDR on May 2, 2016. 

This year marks the third year that ASA and the Anesthesia Quality Institute (AQI) National Anesthesia Clinical Outcomes Registry (NACOR) have been approved as a QCDR by CMS. The approval allows anesthesiologists and other anesthesia providers to report on a diversity of measures that reflect their practice. Practices may report on any combination of PQRS and non-PQRS QCDR measures available through the ASA QCDR to meet the required PQRS thresholds of reporting nine measures across three National Quality Strategy (NQS) domains where two of the measures are outcome measures. 

In 2015, AQI successfully submitted data on more than 5,000 physician anesthesiologists and anesthesia providers. Please note that the ASA QCDR is available for individual reporting only. Individual reporting allows EPs and their practices to customize the measures they wish to report according to the patients to which the anesthesiologist or anesthesia provider deliver care.

For additional information, please contact the Anesthesia Quality Institute at [email protected].