MINNEAPOLIS, January 3, 2008—The 2008 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) program has begun, kicking off January 1. The American Medical  Association and other groups have developed participation tools for all of the measures in the 2008 PQRI program.

These tools are designed to:

• aid physicians and other eligible professionals wishing to participate in the program to identify measures relevant to their practice
• facilitate the data collection required to report clinical performance data

For each of the 119 measures in the program, the tools are now available online at www.ama-assn.org/go/toolsMedicarePQRI

Technical specifications and release notes can be found on the CMS PQRI Website at: www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI

PQRI Question of the Week:

Q: What is the bonus available for eligible professionals who successfully participate in 2008 PQRI?

A: Incentive payments for successful participation in 2008 PQRI will be paid from the Medicare Part B Trust Fund- same as for 2007. Eligible professionals may earn a bonus payment of 1.5% of total allowed charges for covered services payable under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.