FAQ Directory: HEDIS

Filter Results
  • Save

    Save your favorite pages and receive notifications whenever they’re updated.

    You will be prompted to log in to your NCQA account.

  • Email

    Share this page with a friend or colleague by Email.

    We do not share your information with third parties.

  • Print

    Print this page.

3.17.2020 COVID-19 If organizations report a HEDIS 2020 measure using the Administrative Method, may they use their audited HEDIS 2019 rate instead?

No, measures being reported using the Administrative Method should be reported following the HEDIS 2020 reporting requirements. Only measures being reported using the Hybrid Methodology may report the higher of the HEDIS 2020 hybrid rate or the audited HEDIS 2019 hybrid rate.

HEDIS 2020

3.17.2020 COVID-19 May organizations enter data manually in IDSS, and will it trigger a warning?

Yes. Organizations may manually enter data in IDSS for HEDIS 2020; this will trigger a validation warning. Organizations should be able to explain to their auditor why the warning appeared.

HEDIS 2020

3.17.2020 COVID-19 Does NCQA have any guidance for MY 2020 reporting (June 15, 2021) and the impact COVID-19 will have on care delivery?

NCQA is actively working on a plan for MY 2020 reporting. We will announce our decisions as soon as they are finalized.

HEDIS 2020

3.16.2020 Plan All-Cause Readmissions When an index hospital stay is discharged to skilled nursing care facilities (SNF) which date is used for reporting the measure?

The discharge date from the index hospital stay should be used for reporting. The PCR measure assesses the number of acute inpatient and observation stays during the measurement year that were followed by an unplanned acute readmission. SNFs are considered to be nonacute inpatient settings. Therefore, when a member is transferred from an acute inpatient setting to a SNF, only the acute inpatient stay is assessed for reporting.

For example, a member has an acute inpatient stay February 1 – 5 and was discharged to a SNF February 6 – 9 and then transferred back to acute inpatient care February 10 – 14. There are two acute inpatient stays which are assessed for the PCR measure and count as two index hospital stays for the denominator (Stay 1 is February 1 – 5, Stay 2 is February 10 – 14), provided they meet all other measure criteria. Stay 2 is a readmission for Stay 1, provided it meets all numerator criteria because it occurs within 30 days of the discharge date for Stay 1. Stay 1 counts as an index hospital stay discharged to a SNF.
 

HEDIS 2020

3.16.2020 Plan All-Cause Readmissions Which risk weights are assigned to index hospital stays discharged to skilled nursing care when calculating expected readmission rates for the Medicare product line?

For the Medicare product line only, a “Skilled Nursing Care Stratification” was added to highlight the readmission rate among non-outlier Medicare beneficiaries who were discharged from the hospital to skilled nursing care. An index hospital stay discharged to skilled nursing care experienced by a non-outlier Medicare beneficiary is reported in several places and receives two sets of risk weights.

The tables in the PDF (https://www.ncqa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/20200312_2020_PCR_Tables.pdfillustrate assignment of risk weights for index hospital stays among two hypothetical Medicare beneficiaries meeting all other measure criteria (e.g. non-outlier, continuously enrolled, etc.). Index Hospital Stay #2 for member 1101 and Index Hospital Stays #1 and #2 for member 1202 are discharged to skilled nursing care.

Table 1 shows that these index stays are assigned the standard set of risk weights for reporting in Table PCR-A-1/2/3 and Table PCR-B-3. Do not assign the skilled nursing care risk weights for the stays in Table PCR-A-1/2/3 and Table PCR-B-3.

Table 2 shows that these same index stays are assigned the skilled nursing care risk weights for reporting the “Skilled Nursing Care Stratification” in Table PCR-C-3. Do not assign the standard set of risk weights for the stays in Table PCR-C-3.

Index hospital stays that are not discharged to skilled nursing do not need to be assigned the skilled nursing care risk weights and are not reported in the “Skilled Nursing Care Stratification” in Table PCR-C-3.  Index Hospital Stays #1 and #3 for member 1101 are examples of events that do not need to be assigned the skilled nursing care risk weights and are not reported in the “Skilled Nursing Care Stratification”. The “Skilled Nursing Care Stratification” applies to the Medicare product line only and index hospital stays among other product lines do not use the skilled nursing care risk weights.



 

HEDIS 2020

2.14.2020 Follow-Up After High-Intensity Care for Substance Use Disorder Direct Transfer instructions state, “Identify direct transfers to an acute inpatient care or residential setting during the 30-day follow-up period.” Should readmissions during the 30-day period also be identified?

No. Only direct transfers during the 30-day follow-up period should be identified. A “direct transfer” is when the discharge date from the first acute inpatient or residential care setting precedes the admission date to a second acute inpatient or residential care setting by one calendar day or less.
If a member had a stay from January 1–5, followed by readmission on January 6 and discharge on January 8, this is considered a direct transfer and the January 8 discharge date is used for reporting.
If a member had a stay from January 1–5 and a stay from January 8–10, this is considered a readmission. The “multiple discharges, visits or events during in a 31-day period” rule applies; the January 5 discharge is used for reporting and the January 10 discharge is dropped.

HEDIS 2020

2.14.2020 Prenatal and Postpartum Care For members whose last enrollment start date is less than 42 days prior to delivery, should we include prenatal visits that occur after the delivery date but within 42 days after the enrollment start date?

No. The intent is to only count prenatal visits, which by definition can only occur prior to delivery. Do not count visits that occur on or after the date of delivery for the Timeliness of Prenatal Care indicator.

HEDIS 2020

1.15.2020 Adherence to Antipsychotic Medications for Individuals With Schizophrenia Are the first two bullets below in Step 2: Exclusions of the Event/Diagnosis “required” exclusions?
• A diagnosis of dementia (Dementia Value Set).
• Did not have at least two antipsychotic medication dispensing events. There are two ways to identify dispensing events: by claim/encounter data and by pharmacy data. The organization must use both methods to identify dispensing events, but an event need only be identified by one method to be counted.
– Claim/encounter data. An antipsychotic medication (Long Acting Injections 14 Days Supply Value Set; Long Acting Injections 28 Days Supply Value Set; Long Acting Injections 30 Days Supply Value Set).
– Pharmacy data. Dispensed an antipsychotic medication on an ambulatory basis. Use all the medication lists in the Oral Antipsychotic Medications and Long-Acting Injections tables below to identify antipsychotic medication dispensing events.

Yes. The first two bullets in Step 2 of the Event/Diagnosis are required exclusions and supplemental data may be used when reporting them. These exclusions are reported in the “Number of required exclusions” data element in IDSS. The remainder of the bullets in Step 2 are exclusions, but they are not required exclusions and supplemental data may not be used when reporting them.

HEDIS 2020

12.16.2019 Childhood Immunization Status The third bullet in the Rotavirus numerator description references Rotavirus (2 Dose Schedule) Procedure Value Set, which does not exist in the Value Set Directory. Which value set should be used for reporting?

Replace the value set reference with “Rotavirus Vaccine (2 Dose Schedule) Procedure Value Set” and use this value set for reporting.

HEDIS 2020

12.16.2019 Follow-Up Care for Children Prescribed ADHD Medication The third bullet in the Rate 2-C&M Phase numerator description references the Observation Visit Value Set, which does not exist in the Value Set Directory. Which value set should be used for reporting?

Replace the value set reference with “Observation Value Set” and use this value set for reporting.

HEDIS 2020

12.02.2019 Prenatal and Postpartum Care The PPC measure defines an enrollment segment as a period of continuous enrollment with no gaps. The “last enrollment segment” is used in calculating the timelines of prenatal care numerator and is defined as the enrollment segment during the pregnancy with a start date closest to the delivery date. How do organizations identify the last enrollment segment for a member who has multiple enrollment segments?

For HEDIS 2020 reporting, enrollment segments are determined based on enrollment data provided by the health plan. If a plan provides the member's enrollment in different products/product lines as different enrollment segments, or even enrollment in the same product/product lines as different enrollment segments, the start date of the last enrollment segment must be used.

HEDIS 2020

12.02.2019 General Guideline 33: Measures That Require Results From the Most Recent Test or Measurement With General Guideline 33, organizations must use the most recent date when multiple dates of service for the same lab test are provided within a 7-day period. Which test is used in the following example, the September test or the December test?
A HbA1c lab claim on 12/30/2019 had a result date in the medical record on 1/3/2020. The member also had an HbA1c test with both the test and a result on 9/30/19.

Using General Guideline 33, the 12/30/2019 test is used as the most recent test while the 1/3/2020 result is within 7 days of the test, it is after the date threshold in the measure and may not be used. The result is counted as missing and the member is compliant for the HbA1c Testing and HbA1c Poor Control indicators. The member is not compliant for the HbA1c Control <7 for Selected Populations and HbA1c Control <8 indicators.
The 9/30/2019 test cannot be used as it is not the most recent.  

Note: Ensuring results in the year after the measurement year are not counted is not tested in HEDIS 2020 Measure Certification. 

HEDIS 2020