Internal Medicine Coding Alert

Reader Questions:

Count on These PQRI Resources

Question: We are trying to code for the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI), but we've got several questions about how to do it properly. Are there any resources that can help us?

Texas Subscriber

Answer: PQRI reporting can be tricky, especially at first. Discovering which measures are relevant to your internist can take time, and once you do decide which measures to report, coding questions will inevitably surface. Here are the best PQRI Web sites for coding information and instruction.

Medicare PQRI handbook:

http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI/Downloads/2008PQRICodingforQualityHandbook.pdf

Medicare PQRI specifications document:

http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI/Downloads/2008PQRIMeasureSpecs.pdf

Medicare PQRI FAQ: http://questions.cms.hhs.gov/cgi-bin/cmshhs.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php?%20p_pv=3.945&p_prods=8%2C61%2C945&p_cats=&p_hidden_prods=&prod_lvl1=8&prod_lvl2=61&prod_lvl3=945

Medicare PQRI main page:

http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI/

AMA PQRI Quality Measures page (This site contains downloadable data collection sheets for each PQRI measure):

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/17493.html.

-- Answers to You Be the Coder and Reader Questions were reviewed by Bruce Rappoport, MD, CPC, CHCC, a board-certified internist and medical director of Broward Health's Best Choice Plus and Total Claims Administration in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

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