Updated Measure Specifications Available on the eCQM Library and eCQI Resource Center Websites

Updated Measure Specifications Available on the eCQM Library and eCQI Resource Center Websites

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has posted the 2016 electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs) annual update for eligible hospitals and eligible professionals to electronically report 2017 quality data for CMS quality reporting programs.

CMS updates the specifications annually to continue to align the measures with the current clinical guidelines and code systems.

This year’s update includes:

• 29 measures for eligible hospitals for the 2017 reporting period; and


• 64 measures for eligible professionals for the 2017 performance period.

Please note: The reporting period for eligible hospitals is defined as the measure data capture period of the calendar year between January 1 and December 31. The performance period for eligible professionals is defined as the measure data capture period of the calendar year between January 1 and December 31.

All of the updated measure specifications have been re-specified using QDM 4.2 based-HQMF version R 2.1.

How to Download Measures

To review the measures, download the entire set of eligible hospital or eligible professional measures using the links to the corresponding zip files on CMS.gov.

To obtain the value sets for the eCQMs, providers can download packages in multiple file formats from the “Downloads” page at the Value Set Authority Center (VSAC). The value sets are available as a complete set, as well as value sets per measure. TheData Element Catalog on the VSAC home page contains the complete list of updated eCQMs and value set names.

Please note: To access VSAC, you will be required to log in with Unified Medical Language System® Metathesaurus Licensecredentials.