CMS announced April 20 that clinicians participating in the Quality Payment Program can now earn credit in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System for reporting data on clinical trials.
To receive MIPS credit, physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and others must attest that they participate in a COVID-19 clinical trial and report their findings through a clinical data repository or clinical data registry for the duration of their study. Clinicians who report these findings will automatically earn half of the maximum score in the MIPS improvement activities performance category, which counts as 15 percent of the MIPS final score.
"The best scientific and medical minds in the world are working night and day to find treatments to combat coronavirus. But without solid data, their efforts are liable to run up against a brick wall," CMS Administrator Seema Verma said in an April 20 release. "Today's action encourages clinicians to report data that will help us monitor the spread of the virus, find innovative medical solutions, and unleash scientific discovery as we seek to overcome this terrible disease."
The Quality Payment Program started in January 2017. It includes two performance tracks: MIPS and Advanced Alternative Payment Models.