The American Board of Ophthalmology's (ABO) Maintenance of
Certification (MOC) program has been vetted and approved by the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for the PQRS:
MOC incentive (2012 and 2013).
PQRS, the ABO's MOC program, and PQRS: MOC
PQRS and PQRS: MOC are CMS incentive programs. Participation in
PQRS is a requirement for participation in PQRS: MOC. The ABO's MOC
program consists of activities required to maintain Certification.
Several of these activities also are requirements of PQRS: MOC.
The Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS)
The Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS)
is a provision of the Affordable Care Act which offers
participating physicians an incentive payment equal to 0.5% of
their estimated total allowed charges for covered Medicare Part B
services. Physicians have various methods of participating in
standard PQRS reporting, including claims-based reporting through
their practices, or by utilizing a qualified registry approved by
CMS.
ABO MOC
ABO MOC is the program administered by
the American Board of Ophthalmology which supports maintenance of
Board Certification throughout a diplomate's practice. MOC
embodies the principles of lifelong learning and continuous
improvement, for the benefit of the public and the profession
and:
- establishes and maintains high standards for patient care in
ophthalmology;
- provides physicians with the means to continually assess and
improve their ability to meet these standards; and
- ensures that physicians are being assessed by reliable and
valid measures to continually improve patient care.
PQRS: MOC
PQRS: MOC is a separate CMS incentive program
available to physicians who are participating in PQRS reporting,
and who are also participating in an MOC program that is approved
by CMS.
IMPORTANT: The PQRS: MOC incentive was
developed by CMS and is not a requirement of the American Board of
Ophthalmology's MOC program. PQRS: MOC is an elective process which
allows those physicians who are participating in both
PQRS reporting and MOC to complete additional MOC
components in order to receive an extra incentive payment.
Eligibility to Participate in PQRS: MOC
To be eligible to participate in PQRS: MOC, diplomates must:
Participate in Standard PQRS
Reporting.
Diplomates must participate in PQRS reporting, through their
practice, another CMS-qualified registry, or through the ABO.
Several of the available Practice Improvement Modules align with
standard PQRS reporting requirements. These modules are clearly
identified as PQRS-enabled and contain CMS-approved ophthalmic
measures. By selecting these PQRS-enabled modules, diplomates may
participate in PQRS reporting through the ABO, using the Practice
Improvement Module.
Remain current in MOC Cycle.
Diplomates must complete all activities that are required for
their MOC calendar year and be up-to-date with all requirements in
their current MOC cycle.
If the above qualifications are met, then the diplomate is
eligible to participate in PQRS: MOC. If not, completion of MOC
activities does NOT qualify for PQRS: MOC.
Requirements of Participation in PQRS: MOC
To participate in PQRS: MOC, eligible diplomates must complete
the following requirements:
Opt-In
Diplomates must opt-in to the MOC: PQRS incentive program via
their MOC status page for the calendar year. Via the opt-in form,
the diplomate alerts the ABO of their interest to participate and
provides the CMS-required participation information, including
personal Tax Identification Number (TIN) and National Provider
Identifier (NPI). Email reminders and submission of successful
participation to CMS will only be distributed for those who opt-in
and provide this information.
Practice Improvement Modules (PIM)
Completion of all phases of at least one PIM during the calendar
year is required. This includes chart selection and abstraction,
selection of improvement measures and development of an improvement
strategy, implementation of improvement plan over adequate
timeframe, subsequent re-abstraction of 10 charts and completion of
final impact statement. It is essential for the diplomate to allow
adequate time for successful completion of chosen modules. Click here for a list of modules and recommended time
frames.
Patient Experience of Care Survey
(PEC)
Completion of an approved Patient Experience of Care Survey
during the reporting year is required. Participants can either use
the ABO's approved Patient Experience of Care Survey, or can attest
to completion of another approved Patient Experience of Care
Survey. The ABO's Patient Experience of Care Survey requires
submission of 45 seven-question surveys from current patients. The
survey program is provided at no extra charge, and provides
patients with easy to follow directions and ability to respond to
the survey via paper, phone or web.
"More Frequent" Participation in MOC
All diplomates can meet this requirement by submitting five
additional CME during the reporting year. This meets the CMS "more
frequent" participation requirement. The CME is in addition to the
diplomates' specific CME requirements for the year, and must be
submitted via their MOC status page by December 31, 2013.
Diplomates who do not have an annual MOC CME requirement (that is,
diplomates with a total MOC requirement of 250 CME by the end of
their current MOC cycle), must have submitted a total of 25 CME
multiplied by the year in their MOC cycle they are participating in
PQRS: MOC, PLUS an additional five CME for the reporting year, by
December 31, 2013. For example, a diplomate in year 7 of their
10-year MOC cycle must submit 175 CME PLUS 5 additional CME for a
total of 180 CME by the end of the 2013 reporting year
Authorization to Submit Data to CMS
Completion of an authorization form allowing the ABO to submit
the data from the diplomate's participation in PQRS: MOC to CMS on
their behalf is required. This authorization form is provided to
successful participants in January following the close of the
reporting year. The authorization form for the 2013 reporting year
must be returned by March 1, 2014.
Accessing PQRS: MOC Requirements
Diplomates can access the PQRS: MOC requirements via links on
their MOC status page, which is accessible via the login in the
upper right corner of this page. Data obtained through completion
of these requirements will be reported directly to CMS by the
American Board of Ophthalmology in early 2014.
Ways to Meet PQRS: MOC Eligibility Requirements
For diplomates who may not yet meet the PQRS: MOC eligibility
requirements, the ABO recommends the following:
PQRS Reporting
Diplomates can choose PQRS-enabled modules while completing a
Practice Improvement Module (LINK) in order to complete PQRS
reporting, if they are not already reporting via another CMS
approved registry.
Current MOC requirement
Diplomates can access their MOC status page to determine their
MOC status and to complete activities to become up-to-date in MOC
for the calendar year.
Timeframe and Anticipated Communications
Late March/
Early April: |
CMS provides program approval to ABO. |
| Late April: |
The ABO sends all diplomates an overview of the 2013 PQRS: MOC
process, requirements and timeline. Diplomates may opt-in and
access and complete qualifying MOC activities through their MOC
Status Page at this time. |
| May: |
The ABO provides a self-tracking tool that can be accessed via
the MOC status page. This PQRS: MOC tracking tool illustrates a
diplomate's progress in completing the PQRS: MOC requirements. |
| July: |
The ABO sends all diplomates a general reminder about the PQRS:
MOC program. |
| September: |
The ABO sends all diplomates a final general
reminder about the PQRS: MOC program. |
| January: |
The ABO sends all diplomates who have successfully completed
all PQRS: MOC requirements and who are up to date on their MOC
requirements an authorization form allowing ABO to submit
completion data to CMS. |
The ABO's Role in PQRS: MOC
The ABO supports this PQRS: MOC program as a benefit to its
diplomates in recognition of their commitment to pursuing and
achieving high standards of patient care through Board
Certification and MOC. ABO support of diplomates
participation in PQRS: MOC is limited to the below stated
points. The ABO is not responsible for diplomates who do not
take advantage of this elective, who do not meet the requirements
or who do not comply with the timeline (calendar year).
The ABO provides the opportunity for diplomates to voluntarily
participate in this elective incentive program by:
- Submitting and gaining approval for the ABO's MOC program to
meet the requirements for the PQRS MOC program;
- Administering the process of opting in to the program,
obtaining necessary diplomate authorization, and transmitting
diplomate participation data to CMS;
- Educating diplomates about the program, providing instructions
and guidelines for successful participation, and sending general
reminders about the necessary timeline for completion (calendar
year);
- Providing the ability to opt-in to the PQRS: MOC program via
the diplomate's MOC status page and a separate, unique PQRS status
page that allows the diplomate to track their progress in
fulfilling the PQRS: MOC requirements for the reporting year;
- Providing a mechanism through the applicable Practice
Improvement Modules (PIMs) to participate in PQRS reporting while
simultaneously completing the PIM (this applies only to PIMs that
include approved ophthalmic PQRS reporting measures);
- Providing a Patient Experience of Care Survey program via the
MOC status page;
- Answering diplomates' questions related to the requirements and
timeline; and
- Administering the program at no extra charge.
Participation in PQRS: MOC is optional. The
ABO will take several steps to facilitate elective participation;
however, it is the responsibility of the diplomate to meet the
requirements for PQRS: MOC.
For PQRS: MOC
Frequently Asked Questions, click here.