McKesson’s technology-enabled solution now supports six unique, oncology-specific measures that are significant indicators of quality patient care
IRVING, Texas, Jan. 16, 2020—For the fourth consecutive year, McKesson has received approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to participate in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) program as a Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR). With this designation for the 2020 program year, McKesson will continue to provide clinicians with the ability to report clinical quality measures directly to CMS through data collected within its industry-leading, oncology-specific electronic health record (EHR), iKnowMedSM.
In addition, six oncology-specific custom QCDR measures identified by physician leaders in The US Oncology Network (The Network) were proposed by McKesson and approved by CMS. The new measures are either outcome or high-priority measures that CMS has recognized as important areas to monitor because they impact patient care and, in many cases, the cost of care:
- Mutation testing for lung cancer completed prior to start of targeted therapy
- Supportive care drug utilization in last 14 days of life
- Patient-reported pain improvement
- Advance care planning in metastatic cancer patients
- Hepatitis B serology testing and prophylactic treatment prior to receiving anti-CD20 targeting drugs
- Utilization of PET, PET/CT, or CT scans for breast cancer stage 0, I, or II at any time during the course of evaluation and treatment
These custom measures allow oncology physicians to report on areas they feel are more clinically relevant to the way they practice medicine and may help practices maximize their MIPS score while improving patient outcomes.
“Measures that focus on patient-reported pain improvement and mutation testing in lung cancer are significant. For example, uncontrolled pain is a huge cost driver, and we think documenting results of the pain management plan will improve care. Furthermore, mutation testing in lung cancer leads to the most appropriate and cost-effective therapies, and yet this isn’t always done,” said Marcus Neubauer, MD, chief medical officer for McKesson and The US Oncology Network. “We are pleased CMS has approved these oncology-specific measures. We understand the importance of listening to and working with community oncologists as well as leveraging their expertise to make meaningful change and improve patient care.”
McKesson’s QCDR supports three MIPS practice-reported categories: Quality, Promoting Interoperability, and Improvement Activities. The fourth category, Cost, is calculated based on CMS claims data, so there is nothing additional for practices to report. Through McKesson’s QCDR, iKnowMed users gain a wealth of benefits to optimize MIPS performance and value-based care transformation, including:
- A comprehensive end-to-end solution for data capture through standard workflow, performance monitoring and direct data submission to CMS
- Support for 17 MIPS quality measures and six oncology-specific custom QCDR measures
- A dashboard providing a high-level visualization of MIPS performance and actionable insights for continuous improvement with the ability to drill down by clinician and into patient-specific data
“We are dedicated to supporting our customers throughout the transition to value-based care,” said Erin Crum, director of Quality Reporting, McKesson. “Our solution streamlines reporting for community oncology practices with no additional documentation, administrative work or need to engage a separate registry vendor.”
About McKesson Corporation
McKesson Corporation is a global leader in healthcare supply chain management solutions, retail pharmacy, community oncology and specialty care, and healthcare information technology. McKesson partners with pharmaceutical manufacturers, providers, pharmacies, governments and other organizations in healthcare to help provide the right medicines, medical products and healthcare services to the right patients at the right time, safely and cost-effectively. United by our ICARE shared principles, our employees work every day to innovate and deliver opportunities that make our customers and partners more successful — all for the better health of patients. McKesson has been named the “Most Admired Company” in the healthcare wholesaler category by FORTUNE, a “Best Place to Work” by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, and a top military-friendly company by Military Friendly. For more information, visit www.mckesson.com.