American Board of Pathology (ABP) diplomates now have an opportunity to earn an additional 0.5 percent incentive payment on Medicare Part B allowed charges by participating in the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS). The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently approved the ABP’s participation in the maintenance of certification additional incentive program. PQRS, formerly known as PQRI, is a federal voluntary quality reporting program that provides an incentive payment to eligible physicians who satisfactorily report data on specified quality measures. Pathology currently has five quality measures: Breast cancer resection pathology reporting; Colorectal cancer resection pathology reporting; Barrett esophagus; Radical prostatectomy pathology reporting; and Immunohistochemistry evaluation of HER2 for breast cancer patients. Physicians can choose to fulfill the PQRS reporting requirement through Medicare Part B claims (most commonly used by pathologists), a qualified electronic health record, or a qualified registry. For 2013 and 2014, the PQRS incentive payment is 0.5 percent of a physician’s total Medicare Part B allowed charges. Physicians who do not participate in PQRS in 2013 will incur a 1.5 percent penalty in 2015….
