Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about NCQA’s various programs. If you don’t see what you are looking for in one of the entries below, you can ask a question through My NCQA.
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Plans work with their NCQA-Certified auditor to complete the most appropriate section of the Roadmap for the data source. The eMeasure section is intended for use by data aggregators and EHR vendors, but may be adapted and modified. Plans should work with auditors or contact NCQA with specific questions about the eMeasure Roadmap or Audit Roadmap Section 5.
Plans should work with their NCQA-Certified auditor to accurately identify all data sources being considered for HEDIS reporting, whether the source is used for ECDS measures or for other HEDIS domain measures. If a plan completed an Audit Roadmap (Section 5) and will use the data source for both supplemental data and ECDS, this should be noted.
There are no specific ECDS guidelines for auditor approval of ECDS data sources. Data sources must meet the ECDS requirements and must be reputable—containing accurate, complete and reliable clinical data. Auditors use the same validation methods as for all other data sources. For example, for claims data, auditors validate the accuracy and completeness of the plan’s claims data. For a case management system, auditors review the system, the processes for capturing data and whether data can be extracted from the system. NCQA will add guidance to audit requirements as we learn more about data sources being used.
Case management data may be used for measures using the ECDS reporting method if the information collected by case managers is available on request to all providers treating the same member in another setting.
Data are not required to be accessed to qualify for ECDS reporting, but must be available on request to providers providing care to the member.
Refer to the ECDS general guidelines for information. Request clarification through the NCQA Policy Clarification Support (PCS) system at https://my.ncqa.org or review the proposed systems with your NCQA-Certified auditor. Send requests for individual technical support with ECDS reporting to ecds@ncqa.org.
Yes. The intent is to exclude members who were dispensed opioids on only one date of service during the measurement year. If the member had multiple prescriptions (for the same or different medication) on one date of service and had no opioid prescriptions on another date of service during the measurement year, the member is excluded.
HEDIS ECDS technical specifications are available in the NCQA store in PDF format: http://store.ncqa.org/index.php/catalog/product/view/id/2822/s/hedis-2018-volume-2-measures-for-electronic-clinical-data-systems/. They are also available in HEDIS 2018 Technical Specifications for Health Plans, which can be purchased at the NCQA store.
Complete digital measure packages for HEDIS ECDS measures will be available for download at a future date.
To use a case management system for ECDS reporting, the system must be verified by an NCQA-Certified auditor and demonstrate (e.g., policies and procedures) that all health care providers responsible for managing a member’s condition have access to information. It is not necessary to track whether the information was accessed, but there must be evidence that data are available on request.
Only health plans may submit HEDIS ECDS measure data to NCQA. EHR vendors should work with plans that use their systems to provide data that will be used to calculate HEDIS ECDS measures.
NCQA is currently certifying EHR vendors, to increase the reliability of health IT data used for reporting health care performance. Learn more at:
Organizations do not report an IP-ECDS coverage rate; they report a count of members in the initial population covered by ECDS. NCQA does not publicly report these data, which are for internal NCQA use and for benchmarking analysis to help determine the timeline for public reporting.
ECDS reporting encourages use of multiple data sources to provide a complete and accurate picture of the health care experience. Transactional and clinical data from several sources may be used for ECDS reporting if data meet eligibility criteria. Click here for information on allowable data sources: http://www.ncqa.org/HEDISQualityMeasurement/ECDS/AllowableData.aspx
