FAQ Directory: HEDIS

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11.16.2012 Cardiovascular Monitoring for People With Cardiovascular Disease and Schizophrenia The CMC event/diagnosis criteria were revised in the Volume 2 Technical Update to include both facility and professional claims when identifying an AMI or CABG event. Should both facility and professional claims be included when identifying AMI or CABG for the SMC measure?

Yes. Organizations should include AMI and CABG from inpatient claims only, but may use both facility and professional claims to identify these events for HEDIS 2013 reporting.

HEDIS 2013

11.16.2012 Care for Older Adults May a yes/no checklist be used for the advance care planning indicator?

If "yes" is checked, it may be counted as evidence that the member executed an advance care plan. If "no" is checked, evidence of an advance care planning discussion must be documented. A checklist does not count as evidence of a discussion.

HEDIS 2013

11.16.2012 Cardiovascular Monitoring for People With Cardiovascular Disease and Schizophrenia In the Volume 2 Technical Update, the Continuous Enrollment criteria were revised to read "the measurement year and the year prior to the measurement year." Should the Allowable Gap criteria also include the year prior to the measurement year?

Yes. Members should have no more than one gap in enrollment of up to 45 days during each year of continuous enrollment.

HEDIS 2013

10.16.2012 Comprehensive Diabetes Care Can CPT Category II code 4010F be used to identify ACE inhibitor/ARB therapy for the Medical Attention for Nephropathy indicator?

Yes, CPT Category II code 4010F (Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or Angiotensin Receptor Blocker (ARB) therapy prescribed or currently being taken) can be used to identify ACE inhibitor/ARB therapy (Table CDC-K) for the Medical Attention for Nephropathy indicator for HEDIS 2014 reporting.

HEDIS 2013

10.16.2012 General Guidelines What is the difference between "required" exclusions and "optional" exclusions?

Required exclusions identify members who must be excluded from the measure, regardless of numerator compliance. They are listed as part of the eligible population criteria because members who meet the required exclusion criteria are removed when identifying the denominator of the measure. Optional exclusions should only be used to remove members that did not meet the measure's numerator criteria. Organizations may choose to apply optional exclusions, which are listed separately at the end of the measure specification, or may choose not to apply the exclusions.

HEDIS 2013

9.16.2012 Cervical Cancer Screening The USPSTF released new recommendations for cervical cancer screening in March 2012. It recommends cytology (Pap test) screening every three years for women 21_65 years of age or, for women 30_65 years of age who want to lengthen the screening interval, screening with a combination of cytology and human papillomavirus (HPV) testing every five years. In light of the new recommendations, will NCQA update the CCS measure to account for the lengthened screening for women 30_65 years?

In response to USPSTF recommendations, NCQA has scheduled the CCS measure for reevaluation in 2012. The appropriate staff and panels will review updates and other relevant guidelines and will evaluate potential changes to the measure. Proposed changes, if any, will be posted for Public Comment in February 2013 and, pending final approval by the NCQA Committee on Performance Measurement, will be included in HEDIS 2014.

HEDIS 2013

9.16.2012 General Guidelines Can an organization continue to collect medical records for members in the hybrid sample after the May 15 medical record review deadline and record them in supplemental database for use in the current reporting year?

No, organizations may not continue to collect medical record data past May 15 and enter it into a supplemental database for use in the current HEDIS year.

HEDIS 2013

9.16.2012 Medication Reconciliation Post-Discharge The Medication Therapy Management (MTM) program is required for CMS Parts C and D data validation audits. May we use data from the MTM program to satisfy the "medication reconciliation" requirements in the MRP measure?

Data from the MTM program may be used only if the organization can distinguish a member's discharge medications from the member's current medications. The reconciliation must have occurred on or within 30 days of discharge by a prescribing practitioner, clinical pharmacist or registered nurse to meet the intent of the measure.

HEDIS 2013

8.16.2012 Comprehensive Diabetes Care May documentation of the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) test be used when reporting the Medical Attention for Nephropathy indicator?

No. GFR testing is not currently acceptable for the Medical Attention for Nephropathy indicator. Clinical experts determined that certain characteristics, such as age, sex and race, may impact the effectiveness of such tests for monitoring nephropathy. If a member was determined to have impaired kidney function based on a GFR test, it is expected that there would be other documentation in the medical record that would make the member compliant for the nephropathy indicator (e.g., documentation of a visit to a nephrologist or documentation of medical attention for any appropriate conditions listed in the specifications).

HEDIS 2013

8.16.2012 Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drug Therapy in Rheumatoid Arthritis What combination of visits with a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis may be used to meet the event/diagnosis criteria?

Although the event/diagnosis criteria do not specifically state "and/or," it is implied. As long as there are two outpatient visits or two nonacute inpatient discharges, or one outpatient visit and one nonacute inpatient discharge, with a diagnosis of RA, the member meets the criteria for eligible population.

HEDIS 2013

7.16.2012 Initiation and Engagement of Alcohol and Other Drug DependenceTreatment The Engagement of AOD Treatment indicator requires initiation of AOD treatment and two or more inpatient admissions, outpatient visits, intensive outpatient encounters or partial hospitalizations with any AOD diagnosis within 30 days AFTER the date of the Initiation encounter (inclusive). Does "inclusive" mean that the initiation visit is included when determining compliance for engagement? What does "after" mean?

"Inclusive" means that the initiation visit is included when determining compliance for the Engagement of AOD Treatment indicator; therefore, the initiation visit is day 1 in the 30-day count. "After" means that the two additional visits must occur after the date of the initiation encounter. For example, if a members initiation visit occurred on August 1, the engagement visits must occur on August 2 through August 30.

HEDIS 2013

7.16.2012 Medical Record Review Validation In HEDIS 2013, are there new requirements for MRRV?

For HEDIS 2013, NCQA will adopt a new audit process that uses like-measure groupings for measure validation, includes hybrid measure exclusions, applies a different statistical test to the process and clearly defines MRR milestones to ensure consistency across plans.

HEDIS 2013