Earn a $20 PIP incentive for lab monitoring of patients taking persistent medications

More than 700,000 Americans visit an emergency room each year due to adverse drug events or incidents related to the use of a drug, but more than a quarter of these types of events are preventable.¹ That’s why we want to work with you to make sure the medications your patients are taking are safe and effective. We want to ensure that our members – your patients – who have been taking persistent medications for six months or longer are tested each year to measure how the drugs are affecting them.

CMS follows the HEDIS Annual Lab Monitoring for Persistent Medications measure as a means of monitoring medication safety. This measure is included in the Partners in Performance (PIP) program. For each qualified measured patient, you’ll receive a $20 PIP incentive if your practice meets the measure target. Patients must be taking one of the following types of persistent medications to qualify:

• Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI)
• Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB)
• Digoxin
• Diuretics
• Anticonvulsants

Corresponding lab codes are identified below. A billed lab claim qualifies a member as meeting measure criteria. For additional details, review the Annual Lab Monitoring for Patients on Persistent Medications measure in your PIP manual.

¹ Center for Disease Control and Prevention. For Adults and Older Adult Adverse Drug Events. Updated March 2008. Accessed June 23,2010. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/ps_forAdults.html and Gurwitz JH, Field TS, Harrold LR, et al. 2003. Incidence and preventability ofadverse drug events among older persons in the ambulatory setting. JAMA; 289:1107-16.

Topics: Preventive care