2026 # 317 MIPS Measure Preventive Care and Screening Screening for High Blood Pressure and Follow Up Documented

2026 COLLECTION TYPE:

MERIT-BASED INCENTIVE PAYMENT SYSTEM (MIPS) CLINICAL QUALITY MEASURE (CQM)

‌MEASURE TYPE: Process

Description:

‌Percentage of patient visits for patients aged 18 years and older seen during the performance period who were screened for high blood pressure AND a recommended follow-up plan is documented, as indicated, if blood pressure is elevated or hypertensive.

Instructions:

Reporting Frequency:
This measure is to be submitted at each visit for denominator eligible cases as defined in the denominator criteria.

Intent and Clinician Applicability:
The intent of this measure is to screen patients for high blood pressure and provide recommended follow-up as indicated. Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) eligible clinicians who submit the measure must perform the blood pressure (BP) screening at each patient visit by a MIPS eligible clinician and may not obtain measurements from external sources. This measure may be submitted by MIPS eligible clinicians who perform the quality actions as defined by the numerator based on the services provided and the measure-specific denominator coding.

Measure Strata and Performance Rates:
This measure contains one strata defined by a single submission criteria.
This measure produces a single performance rate.

Implementation Considerations:
For the purposes of MIPS implementation, this visit measure is submitted each time a patient has a denominator eligible encounter during the performance period.

Both the systolic and diastolic blood pressure measurements are required for inclusion. If there are multiple blood pressures on the same date of service, use the most recent (last reading documented) as the representative blood pressure. The documented follow-up plan must be related to the current BP reading as indicated, example: “Patient referred to primary care provider for BP management”.

Telehealth:
NOT TELEHEALTH ELIGIBLE: This measure is not appropriate for nor applicable to the telehealth setting. Patient encounters for this measure conducted via telehealth should be removed from the denominator eligible patient population. Therefore, if the patient meets all denominator criteria but the encounter is conducted via telehealth, it would be appropriate to remove them from the denominator eligible patient population. Telehealth eligibility is at the measure level for inclusion within the denominator eligible patient population and based on the measure specification definitions which are independent of changes to coding and/or billing practices

Measure Submission:
The quality data codes listed do not need to be submitted by MIPS eligible clinicians, groups, or third party intermediaries that utilize this collection type for submissions; however, these codes may be submitted for those third party intermediaries that utilize Medicare Part B claims data. The coding provided to identify the measure criteria: Denominator or Numerator, may be an example of coding that could be used to identify patients that meet the intent of this clinical topic. When implementing this measure, please refer to the ‘Reference Coding’ section to determine if other codes or code languages that meet the intent of the criteria may also be used within the medical record to identify and/or assess patients. For more information regarding Application Programming Interface (API), please refer to the Quality Payment Program (QPP) website.

Denominator:

All patient visits for patients aged 18 years and older at the beginning of the performance period.

Definition:
Not Eligible for High Blood Pressure Screening (Denominator Exclusion) – Patient has an active diagnosis of hypertension prior to the current encounter

DENOMINATOR NOTE:
*Signifies that this CPT Category I code is a non-covered service under the Medicare Part B Physician Fee Schedule (PFS). These non-covered services should be counted in the denominator population for MIPS CQMs.

Denominator Criteria (eligible Cases):

Patients aged ≥ 18 years at the beginning of the performance period

And

Patient encounter during performance period (CPT or HCPCS): 90791, 90792, 92002, 92004, 92012, 92014, 92532, 92534, 92537, 92538, 92540, 92541, 92542, 92544, 92545, 92546, 92622, 92625, 97802, 97803, 99202, 99203, 99204, 99205, 99212, 99213, 99214, 99215, 99236, 99242, 99243, 99244, 99245, 99281, 99282, 99283, 99284, 99285, 99304, 99305, 99306, 99307, 99308, 99309, 99310, 99315, 99316, 99341, 99342, 99344, 99345, 99347, 99348, 99349, 99350, 99385*, 99386*, 99387*, 99395*, 99396*, 99397*, 99424, 99491, D3921, D7111, D7140, D7210, D7220, D7230, D7240, D7241, D7250, D7251, G0101, G0270, G0402, G0438, G0439

Without

Encounters conducted via telehealth: M1442

And Not

Denominator Exclusions:

Patient not eligible due to active diagnosis of hypertension: G9744

Numerator:

Patient visits where patients were screened for high blood pressure AND have a recommended follow-up plan documented, as indicated, if the blood pressure is elevated or hypertensive.

Definitions:
Blood Pressure (BP) Classification – BP is defined by four (4) BP reading classifications: Normal, Elevated, First Hypertensive, and Second Hypertensive Readings
• Normal BP: Systolic BP (SBP) < 120 mmHg AND Diastolic BP (DBP) < 80 mmHg
• Elevated BP: SBP of 120-129 mmHg AND DBP < 80 mmHg
• First Hypertensive Reading: SBP of >= 130 mmHg OR DBP of >= 80 mmHg without a previous SBP of >= 130 mmHg OR DBP of >= 80 mmHg during the 12 months prior to the encounter
• Second Hypertensive Reading: Requires a SBP >= 130 mmHg OR DBP >= 80 mmHg during the current encounter AND a most recent BP reading within the last 12 months SBP >= 130 mmHg OR DBP >= 80 mmHg
Recommended BP Follow-Up – The 2017 Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults from the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association (2017 Guideline) recommends BP screening and thresholds as defined under Blood Pressure Classifications and recommends interventions based on the current BP reading as listed in the “Recommended Blood Pressure FollowUp” Table below. The time periods for follow-up actions specified for the elevated and the second hypertensive (130- 139 DBP OR 80-89 SBP) BP classifications slightly differ from time periods given in the 2017 Guideline. This allows for clinician discretion due to patient condition and stability of the measure specification over time.
Recommended Nonpharmacologic Interventions (Lifestyle Modifications) – The 2017 Guideline outlines nonpharmacologic interventions which must include one or more of the following as indicated:
• Weight Reduction
• A “heart-healthy diet”, such as Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Eating Plan
• Dietary Sodium Restriction
• Increased Physical Activity
• Moderation in alcohol consumption

Recommended Blood Pressure Follow-Up Table

BP Classification	Systolic BPmmHg	Diastolic BP mmHg	Recommended Follow-Up (must include all indicated actions for each BP Classification)
NormalBP Reading	< 120	AND < 80	No Follow-Up required
Elevated BP Reading	120-129	AND < 80	Rescreen BP within 6 months And recommended nonpharmacologic interventions Or Referral to Alternate/Primary Care Provider
First Hypertensive BP Reading	>=130	OR >= 80	Rescreen BP within 4 weeks And recommended nonpharmacologic interventions Or Referral to Alternate/Primary Care Provider
Second Hypertensive BP Reading	130-139 and NOT >=140	OR 80-89 and NOT >=90	Recommended nonpharmacologic intervention And reassessment within 6 months And an order for laboratory test or ECG for hypertension Or Referral to Alternate/Primary Care Provider
Second Hypertensive BP Reading	>=140	OR >=90	Recommended nonpharmacologic intervention And BP-lowering medication And reassessment within 4 weeks And an order for laboratory test or ECG for hypertension Or Referral to Alternate/Primary Care Provider

Patients with a Documented Reason for not Screening or no Follow-Up Plan for High Blood Pressure (Denominator Exceptions) –
• Documentation of medical reason(s) for not screening for high blood pressure (e.g., patient is in an urgent or emergent medical situation where time is of the essence and to delay treatment would jeopardize the patient’s health status).
• Documentation of patient reason(s) for not screening for blood pressure measurements or for not ordering an appropriate follow-up intervention if patient BP is elevated or hypertensive (e.g., patient refuses).

NUMERATOR NOTE:
Although the recommended screening interval for a normal BP reading is every year, to meet the intent of this measure, BP screening and follow-up must be performed at every patient visit. For patients with Normal blood pressure, a follow-up plan is not required (G8783). Denominator Exception(s) are determined on the date of the denominator eligible encounter.

Numerator Options:

Performance Met: Normal blood pressure reading documented, follow-up not required (G8783)

Performance Met: Elevated or Hypertensive blood pressure reading documented, AND the indicated follow-up is documented (G8950)

Denominator Exception: Documented reason for not screening or recommending a follow-up for high blood pressure (G9745)

Performance Not Met: Blood pressure reading not documented, reason not given (G8785)

Performance Not Met: Elevated or Hypertensive blood pressure reading documented, indicated follow-up not documented, reason not given (G8952)

Rationale:

Hypertension is a prevalent condition that affects approximately 66.9 million people in the United States. It is estimated that about 20-40 percent of the adult population has hypertension; the majority of people over aged 65 have a hypertension diagnosis (1,2). Winter noted that 1 in 3 American adults have hypertension and the lifetime risk of developing hypertension is 90 percent (3). The African American population or non-Hispanic Blacks, the elderly, diabetics and those with chronic kidney disease are at increased risk of stroke, myocardial infarction and renal disease. NonHispanic Blacks have the highest prevalence at 38.6 percent (3). Hypertension is a major risk factor for ischemic heart disease, left ventricular hypertrophy, renal failure, stroke and dementia (2). Prevention of hypertension and the treatment of established hypertension are complementary approaches to reducing cardiovascular disease risk in the population, but prevention of hypertension provides the optimal means of reducing risk and avoiding harmful consequences. Periodic BP screening can identify individuals who develop elevated BP over time. More frequent BP screening may be particularly important for individuals with elevated atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk (4).
Hypertension is the most common reason for adult office visits other than pregnancy. Garrison stated that in 2007, 42 million ambulatory visits were attributed to hypertension (5). It also has the highest utilization of prescription drugs. Numerous resources and treatment options are available, yet only about 40- 50 percent of the hypertensive patients have their blood pressure under control (<140/90) (1,2). In addition to medication non-compliance, poor outcomes are also attributed to poor adherence to lifestyle changes such as a low-sodium diet, weight loss, increased exercise and limiting alcohol intake. Many adults find it difficult to continue medications and lifestyle changes when they are asymptomatic. Symptoms of elevated blood pressure usually do not occur until secondary problems arise such as with vascular diseases (myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure and renal insufficiency) (2).
Appropriate follow-up after blood pressure measurement is a pivotal component in preventing the progression of hypertension and the development of heart disease. Detection of marginally or fully elevated blood pressure by a specialty clinician warrants referral to a provider familiar with the management of hypertension and prehypertension. The American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) 2017 Guidelines provide updated recommendations for ASCVD risk. For additional information please refer to the 2017 ACC/AHA guidelines: https://www.acc.org/latest-in-cardiology/ten-points-to-remember/2017/11/09/11/41/2017-guideline-for-high-blood-pressurein-adults (4).
Lifestyle modifications have demonstrated effectiveness in lowering blood pressure (6). The synergistic effect of several lifestyle modifications results in greater benefits than a single modification alone. Baseline diagnostic/laboratory testing establishes if a co-existing underlying condition is the etiology of hypertension and evaluates if end organ damage from hypertension has already occurred. Landmark trials such as the Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT) have repeatedly proven the efficacy of pharmacologic therapy to control blood pressure and reduce the complications of hypertension. A review of 35 studies found that the pharmacist-led interventions involved medication counseling and patient education. Twenty-nine of the 35 studies showed statistically significant improvement in BP levels of the intervention groups at follow-up (7). Follow-up intervals based on blood pressure control have been
established by the 2017 ACC/AHA guideline and the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF).