Yes. If a member’s record is available on request to any member of the care team, the requirement is met.
FAQ Directory
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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10.15.2017 ECDS Is the “care team accessibility” requirement fulfilled if a member’s health record is available online and the provider can access it with the member present or with the member’s consent?
10.15.2017 ECDS How do vendors get the ECDS technical specifications for the submission file format?
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.
This applies to the following Programs and Years:
HEDIS 201810.15.2017 ECDS May we use depression screening performed by case managers who are employees of a health plan and are not part of an external provider group directly serving the member?
Yes. Data collected by care/case managers employed by a health plan are appropriate, and are reported in the Case Management category in the measure report.
Care/case managers are considered part of the member’s care team because they help members manage a condition and/or their use of health care services.
This applies to the following Programs and Years:
HEDIS 201810.15.2017 ECDS Who determines that data “qualify” for ECDS reporting?
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.
This applies to the following Programs and Years:
HEDIS 201810.15.2017 ECDS Are there standard guidelines for how an auditor determines and approves an ECDS database and the amount of provider accessibility needed?
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.
This applies to the following Programs and Years:
HEDIS 201810.15.2017 Use of Opioids at High Dosage and Use of Opioids From Multiple Providers Step 2 of the UOD and UOP eligible population states to exclude “members who had only a single opioid medication (Opioid Medications List) dispensing event.” Does a member who had multiple prescriptions (for the same or different medications) on the same date of service (with no prescriptions on other dates of service during the measurement year) meet criteria for exclusion?
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.
This applies to the following Programs and Years:
HEDIS 201810.15.2017 ECDS If case management data are used only by behavioral health-care providers (not by primary care providers), may these data be an ECDS data source?
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.
This applies to the following Programs and Years:
HEDIS 201810.15.2017 ECDS What happens if members seek services from a provider who cannot share health care data using ECDS?
If a member’s data cannot be classified as ECDS, the member is not included in the ECDS coverage or the measure denominator.
There are several tools for tracking patient progress (for example, https://aims.uw.edu/resource-library/excel%C2%AE-patient-tracking-template). that “convert” data into a format that is considered an ECDS for reporting quality measures.
This applies to the following Programs and Years:
HEDIS 201810.15.2017 ECDS Are we required to collect and report the source vendor for the data e.g., by vendor)and source system of record (e.g., EHR, HIE, case management, claims) when reporting ECDS categories?
Details about the data vendor or source EHR system are not required for ECDS reporting, but should be documented in the HEDIS Roadmap when identifying data sources for an NCQA-Certified auditor. Use of data from NCQA eCQM-Certified vendors will ensure that measure data extracted from these systems are considered standard.
ECDS data should be categorized by one of the four source record categories stated in ECDS General Guideline 2: Data Collection Methods (EHR, HIE/clinical registry, case management registry, administrative claims).
This applies to the following Programs and Years:
HEDIS 201810.15.2017 ECDS Will ECDS measures be used for Health Plan Accreditation or ratings?
ECDS measures are currently not approved for public reporting by NCQA, and are not eligible for use in HPA or health plan ratings. All measures must be approved for public reporting by the Committee on Performance Measurement (CPM) before they can be considered for inclusion in an NCQA program.
