Part B Insider (Multispecialty) Coding Alert

Medical practices raked in millions in 2009, thanks to incentives from the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) and ePrescribing Incentive Program, a new report indicates.

On April 19, CMS released its "2009 Physician Quality Reporting System and ePrescribing Experience Report," which shows that 119,804 physicians and other eligible professionals collected over $234 million in 2009 via the PQRS. Under the ePrescribing Incentive Program, MS paid $148 million to 48,354 physicians and eligible professionals during the same period, which was the first year for e-prescribing bonuses.

Most of the bonuses were paid out to practitioners in ambulatory settings, such as physician offices, the report indicates. "Most beneficiaries get their care in the physician office; however, this is the care setting for which we have the least amount of data about quality of that care," said CMS Administrator Donald Berwick in  statement. The PQRS program and the ePrescribing incentive "help bridge the knowledge gap so we can better understand the care millions of patients receive from physicians and other care providers each day," he said.

To read the complete report, visit www.cms.gov/PQRS/.