Physician Voluntary Reporting Program (PVRP) Reminders
Note: The following article is based on Transmittal 259, Change Request (CR) 5409, located on the CMS Website at:
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/transmittals/downloads/R259OTN.pdf 
As part of its overall quality improvement efforts, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched the Physician Voluntary Reporting Program (PVRP) on January 1, 2006. This new program builds on Medicare's comprehensive efforts to substantially improve the health and function of our beneficiaries by improving the quality of care delivered.
Under the PVRP, physicians who choose to participate will help capture data about the quality of care provided to Medicare beneficiaries in order to identify the most effective ways to use the quality measures in routine practice and to support physicians in their efforts to improve quality of care. Participating physicians will begin reporting quality data and not only be able to receive feedback on their reporting rates and performance, but also provide input on how quality reporting can be improved and less burdensome.
PVRP consists of evidence-based, clinically valid measures, which have been part of the guidelines endorsed by physicians and medical specialty societies, and are the result of extensive input from physicians and other quality care experts.
Change Request (CR) 4183 (Transmittal 35), dated November 2, 2005, contained the 16 measures to be reported by physicians using the existing Medicare claims system effective January 1, 2006. You may access CR 4183 on the CMS Website at:
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/Transmittals/Downloads/R35DEMO.pdf
CR 5036 (Transmittal 43), dated March 24, 2006, added CPT Category II codes to 7 of the 16 measures effective April 1, 2006. You may access CR 5036 at:
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/transmittals/downloads/R43DEMO.pdf
CR 5459 (Transmittal 1152), dated January 11, 2007, added multiple new PVRP codes. You may access CR 5459 at:
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/transmittals/downloads/R1152CP.pdf
Please note the following important reminders regarding PVRP:
- PVRP codes are for voluntary reporting purposes only and physicians should not charge for these codes.
- A note clarifying "not eligible" has been added to the instruction for each measure.
Page Last Updated: Monday, 09-Jun-2008 13:34:31 CDT
