Maintenance downtime scheduled
QualityNet will be unavailable from 7 p.m. CDT on Friday, May 17, through 5 a.m. CDT on Monday, May 20, to allow for scheduled maintenance. This may affect submissions to the data warehouses and use of QualityNet applications.
Dry run of the Hospital VBP program scheduled
February 23, 2012
Beginning February 29, the Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) will conduct a "dry run" of the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program. By simulating the Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 program, the dry run should provide hospitals with a better understanding of the Hospital VBP Program and how performance will be scored. It will also offer hospitals the opportunity to review their data, ask questions and submit comments regarding the program.
As part of the dry run, CMS will create simulated, hospital-specific performance reports for each eligible hospital to review. The simulated reports will use hospital data from prior years to construct the baseline period and performance period scores.
Some hospitals will not be eligible for the dry run—either because they are not Inpatient Prospective Payment System hospitals (such as Critical Access Hospitals) or because they did not meet the minimum case, measure, or completed survey minimum requirements that are part of the program. Those hospitals will not receive a hospital-specific Dry Run report for review but will receive a sample report to assist in their understanding of the Hospital VBP Program.
Dry run reports to be available
Hospital-specific dry run reports will be distributed via My QualityNet beginning February 29 to active, registered QualityNet users with the QIO Clinical Whse Feedback Reports role.
Question and comment period
More information about the Hospital VBP Program—including a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)—is available on the CMS website at: http://www.cms.gov/Hospital-Value-Based-Purchasing/.
After receiving their respective reports, hospitals will have 30 days to submit comments and/or questions (not addressed in the FAQs) regarding the Hospital VBP Program or their hospital-specific reports, using the using the Hospital VBP - FY 2013 Feedback form, (PDF). The Feedback form should be sent to: HospitalVBP@cms.hhs.gov.