FAQ Directory: HEDIS

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1.15.2016 Use of Multiple Concurrent Antipsychotics in Children and Adolescents May we use supplemental data to report the Use of Multiple Concurrent Antipsychotics in Children and Adolescents (APC) measure?

No. Because supplemental data may not be used to identify the eligible population, and the same events are used for the denominator and numerator in APC, supplemental data may not be used for this measure. The data elements table in Volume 2 for APC inadvertently includes the “Numerator events by supplemental data” data element. This field will not be included in the IDSS.

HEDIS 2016

1.15.2016 Statin Therapy for Patients With Cardiovascular Disease and Statin Therapy for Patients With Diabetes Are all members who are numerator compliant for Rate 1 used as the eligible population for Rate 2 in the Statin Therapy for Patients With Cardiovascular Disease (SPC) and Statin Therapy for Patients With Diabetes (SPD) measures?

Yes. All members who are numerator compliant for Rate 1 must be used as the eligible population for Rate 2 in both the SPC and SPD measures (regardless of the data source used to capture the Rate 1 numerator). For example, if supplemental data were used to identify compliance for the Rate 1 numerator, then supplemental data will be included in identifying the Rate 2 eligible population.

 

If pharmacy data are the source data, and are treated similar to encounter data, they could be classified as encounter data rather than as supplemental data. For example, if a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) offers the pharmacy benefit on behalf of a health plan and regularly sends pharmacy data to the plan in a standard format, the data could be considered to be encounter data. Organizations must work with their auditor to determine how data are classified. The auditor will review the organization’s pharmacy benefit structure and the processes for receiving and using data when determining the classification.

HEDIS 2016

1.15.2016 Utilization of the PHQ-9 to Monitor Depression Symptoms for Adolescents and Adults Is the Utilization of the PHQ-9 to Monitor Depression Symptoms for Adolescents and Adults (DMS) measure audited or part of the Measure Certification program for HEDIS 2016?

No. The DMS measure is not part of the NCQA Audit or the Measure Certification program for HEDIS 2016.

HEDIS 2016

1.15.2016 Comprehensive Diabetes Care The urine protein testing requirements for the Medical Attention for Nephropathy indicator were revised. Some examples in HEDIS 2015 (e.g., urine dipstick) are not listed in the 2016 specifications, so do urine dipsticks and test strips still meet criteria for this indicator for HEDIS 2016?

Yes. As a result of changes to the measure, the two example lists were combined into a single list to remove redundancy. All examples that met criteria in HEDIS 2015 meet criteria for HEDIS 2016. Urine dipsticks are considered “spot urine” tests so they meet criteria based on the example, “Spot urine for albumin or protein.”

HEDIS 2016

12.15.2015 Audit Designations in 2016 WHP Reporting Tool Will the 2016 WHP Reporting Tool be updated to reflect the new audit designations included in HEDIS 2016 Volume 2?

No. The WHP 2016 Reporting Tool audit designations will not be updated because the tool and specifications were released prior to these changes. Organizations should report WHP measures for 2016 using the existing WHP Reporting Tool. Any updates will be included in the 2017 WHP Reporting Tool, which will be released on March 31, 2016.

HEDIS 2016

12.15.2015 PQRS Codes for HEDIS Reporting Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) includes CPT Category II codes and HCPCS codes, some of which are not included in the HEDIS value sets. May organizations map these codes for use in HEDIS reporting?

No. Because CPT Category II codes and HCPCS are standard codes they are not eligible for mapping (the value sets include all standard codes that have been identified as appropriate for use in HEDIS reporting). The Category II and HCPCS codes included in PQRS measures were created specifically for use in PQRS reporting and are not appropriate for use in reporting HEDIS measures. If a service or procedure was rendered by a provider, the expectation is that the provider will submit a claim to the health plan for the service or procedure; the codes expected to be on the claim are included in the HEDIS value sets and identify the member for the HEDIS measure.

HEDIS 2016

11.16.2015 Administrative-only Measures For administrative-only measures such as Disease-Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drug Therapy for Rheumatoid Arthritis (ART), may organizations abstract medication information from the medical record to identify numerator hits?

For administrative-only measures, information abstracted from the medical record is considered nonstandard supplemental data and is subject to all requirements described in General Guideline 34. The supplemental data must include all data elements required by the measure specification. For pharmacy data, this means that all data elements from the NDC lists must be present: the generic name, strength/dose, route and date when the medication was dispensed to the member. Generic documentation in the medical record (e.g., that a patient “was prescribed” or “is taking” a medication) that does not include drug name, strength/dose and dispense date does not meet criteria.

HEDIS 2016

11.16.2015 Relative Resource Use for People With Asthma Will NCQA publicly report the Relative Resource Use for People With Asthma (RAS) measure for the Medicare product line for HEDIS 2016?

No. Due to the addition of the Medicare product line to the RAS measure, this measure will not be publicly reported for the Medicare product line for HEDIS 2016. The commercial and Medicaid product lines for RAS will continue to be publicly reported for HEDIS 2016.

HEDIS 2016

11.16.2015 Risk-Adjusted Measures There are duplicate diagnosis codes in the following tables used for risk adjustment: PCR-DischCC and CC-Comorbid. Is this correct?

Yes. The risk adjustment measures are based on the CMS Hierarchical Condition Categories (HCC) risk-adjustment methodology. The updates made to the model, combined with the addition of ICD-10 diagnosis codes, changed the way clinical conditions (CCs) are assigned. When there is a duplicate diagnosis code, it is assigned to multiple CCs. For example, ICD-10 diagnosis code I132 should be mapped to both CC-85 and CC-136. Therefore, CC-85 and CC-136 should both be used towards calculating comorbid weight. In addition, for the Plan All-Cause Readmissions measure, it is possible for members to have more than one discharge CC if the primary discharge diagnosis is assigned multiple CCs.

HEDIS 2016

10.15.2015 Childhood Immunization Status When abstracting medical record data for the hepatitis B vaccine, must the rules for the newborn hepatitis B vaccination in the administrative specification be followed?

When abstracting hepatitis B vaccine data from the medical record, there is no requirement that one be a “newborn” vaccine specifically, and there are no date restrictions. For hybrid reporting, when all events come from the medical record, documentation of three hepatitis B vaccines administered on three different dates of service meets criteria.

The newborn hepatitis B vaccine instructions and value set are intended to be used only for administrative data. The rules for the newborn hepatitis B vaccine are in place because the code in the Newborn Hepatitis B Vaccine Administered Value Set is a generic code that indicates a vaccine was administered but it does not indicate which vaccine was administered (it is not specific to hepatitis B). If this code occurs during the eight-day period (date of birth plus 7 days) then it is appropriate to assume it was a hepatitis B vaccine that was administered (since this is the only vaccine that is routinely administered to all children before discharge from the hospital).

HEDIS 2016

10.15.2015 Technical Update In the Technical Update memo, the following language was added to Persistence of Beta-Blocker Treatment After a Heart Attack and Follow-Up After Hospitalization for Mental Illness: “Use only facility claims to identify discharges and diagnoses for denominator events (including readmissions or direct transfers). Do not use professional claims.” For other measures that use the same method and value sets to identify a discharge (or an admission), should the organization use both facility and professional claims?

Yes. Unless the measure specification directs otherwise, use diagnosis and procedure codes from both facility and professional claims to identify an admission or discharge event.

HEDIS 2016

8.14.2015 General Guidelines Are members with a hospice benefit excluded from Medicare HEDIS reporting?

Yes. For Medicare reporting, exclude members who elect to use the hospice benefit (i.e., use hospice service) any time during the measurement year. These members must be removed prior to determining the measure’s eligible population and drawing the sample for hybrid measures.

HEDIS 2016