The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) (@CMSGov) developed and published the 2019 reporting period electronic clinical quality measure (eCQM) flows for eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAH) to the eCQI Resource Center. This is a new resource for eligible hospital and CAH eCQMs for the 2019 reporting period, developed in response to stakeholder feedback.
The eCQM flows are designed to assist in interpretation of the eCQM logic and calculation methodology for reporting rates. These flows provide an overview of each of the population criteria components and associated data elements that lead to the inclusion or exclusions into the eCQM’s quality action (numerator).
The eCQM flows supplement eCQM specifications for eligible hospitals and CAHs for the following programs:
- Medicare and Medicaid Promoting Interoperability (PI)
- Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR)
These flows are intended to be used as an additional resource when implementing eCQMs and should not be used in place of the eCQM specification or for reporting purposes. A “Read Me First” guide to understanding the flows is also available to assist users as they navigate this new resource. The guide can be found on the eCQI Resource Center website within the eCQM flows zip file.
Questions on the eCQM flows should be directed to the ONC eCQM Issue Tracker website.