This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
IRIS Registry can assist in improving quality of care
WAIKOLOA, Hawaii — New additions to the IRIS Registry aim to improve quality of care, according to a speaker here.
“We’re moving forward in things that actually mean something to us so that we can learn from our own patient populations and compare them to others,” Cynthia Mattox, MD, said at Hawaiian Eye 2019. “Measuring anything makes you better, and that’s what’s shown over time in many different research projects.”
In 2019 the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) from CMS will have more stringent requirements, according to Mattox, trustee at large on the American Academy of Ophthalmology board of trustees and chair of the IRIS Measure Development Task Force. These include decreasing how many points can be achieved for some measures and eliminating others.
The IRIS Registry is a Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR), allowing ophthalmologists to report through the registry to the MIPS program.
The AAO has asked all of ophthalmology’s subspecialties to participate to develop QCDR measures including outcomes, common conditions and data elements that are easy to extract from electronic health records.
“Of course, the goal will have to be to satisfy CMS and other insurance programs because that’s part of what our world is like these days, but what we really want to do is help our members stay sustainable in their practices,” she said. “What we’re getting to and making steps toward is to make measures meaningful, understand where gaps in care are occurring and then closing the loop by making clinical improvements.” – by Rebecca L. Forand
Reference:
Mattox C. Measuring quality using IRIS Registry. Presented at: Hawaiian Eye; Jan. 19-25, 2019; Waikoloa, Hawaii.
Disclosure: Mattox reports no relevant financial disclosures.