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MIPS improvement activities performance category

Summary of the Improvement Activities (IA) Performance Category

  • Minimum of one Improvement Activity out of the 90+ proposed activities to be selected
  • Activities are weighted as "high" (20 points) or "medium" (10 points)
  • A full score in the Improvement performance category is 40 points (or 20 for small or rural practices)
  • View Improvement Activities for 2019
15 %
of MIPS Composite Performance Score

Improvement Activities Data Submission

An organization may choose to submit measure data to CMS as an individual or as a group through any of the options below.

Method

Individual Submisson

Group Submission

Qualified Registry

QCDR

EHR

Administrative Claims

CMS Web Interface

IA Performance Category Scoring

total activity points / total possible points = cpia performance category score
  • Worth 15% of total MIPS CPS
  • Most Improvement Activities are medium-weight activities, and are worth 10 points.
  • There are a few high-weight improvement activities, and those will be worth 20 points.
  • You can use any combination of medium- and high-weight activities.

Improvement Activities Performance Category Exemptions

  • Non-patient-facing eligible clinicians and groups, practices of 15 or fewer professionals, and practices located in rural areas and geographic health professional shortage areas can report two medium-weight activities or one high-weight activity to achieve the full 40 points.
  • Certified patient-centered medical homes, comparable specialty practices, or Medical Homes receive full credit in this category automatically.
  • APMs automatically receive 20 points (half of the highest potential score) for this category.

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Sources:

Medicare Program; Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and Alternative Payment Model (APM) Proposed Rule, 42 CFR § 414 (2016).

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (2016). Clinical Practice Improvement Activities Performance Category [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/Value-Based-Programs/MACRA-MIPS-and-APMs/CPIA-Performance-Category-slide-deck.pdf