A recent survey shows that gastroenterologists are well on their way to reporting quality data to the federal government, and they use or plan to use software to do it.
A study commissioned by ProVation Medical and Carls Diagnostics shows that 88 percent of gastroenterologists either capture quality indicator data or plan to do so in the next two years. The survey was conducted last month among practicing gastroenterologists.
The reporting of quality indicator data is an important component of federal efforts to move the purchase of healthcare to a value-based approach. The Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 authorized the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to establish the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative, through which physicians voluntarily began submitting data on 74 care measures last July.
Of gastroenterologists who collect quality indicator data at present, most record scope withdrawal time (62 percent) and the rate of adenomatous polyp detection (52 percent) as the indicators they capture most frequently.
Among the 182 specialists who responded to the survey, about 43 percent use procedure-based software to gather the information, and 82 percent consider such software the preferred way to capture essential quality indicator data.
The willingness and ability of physicians to collect and report quality data is expected to grow as CMS takes steps to require the mandatory submission of data, particularly in outpatient settings. As Medicare payment systems are revised, such plans could have differing effects on physician specialties.
Representatives from ProVation and Carls Diagnostics said proposed revisions in payment schedules for ambulatory surgery centers could disproportionately affect gastroenterologists.
ProVation Medical provides procedure documentation software that tracks quality indicators. Carls Diagnostics is a national gastroenterology sub-specialized anatomic pathology laboratory.