Survey looks at hospital readiness to submit eCQMs for inpatient quality reporting

About 86% of hospitals expect to submit electronic clinical quality measures by Feb. 28, 2017, according to survey results released yesterday by The Joint Commission. That’s the deadline for hospitals participating in the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program to submit four eCQMs for patients discharged in third or fourth quarter 2016. However, 78% of hospitals will need to do some or a lot of work to effectively report, and only 13% of survey respondents had successfully submitted eCQM patient level data to CMS previously. The survey was conducted this spring in partnership with the AHA and Federation of American Hospitals. Many respondents said they will need to change electronic health record vendors to comply with the requirement. A follow up survey is planned for this fall. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services last month released results from its 2015 pilot assessing hospital readiness to submit eCQM data. Participants recommended that the agency increase outreach, education and guidance to promote eCQM reporting and reduce the burden on hospitals.