Electronic Clinical Quality Measures Updated For 2021 By CMS

CMS has released a list pertaining to the eligibility of Telehealth Encounters for Electronic Clinical Quality Measures, or eCQM, for professionals and clinicians. The document released will help provide those holding stakes with some clarity when it comes to dealing with eCQM.

2021 eCQM Updates

Electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs) are tools that help measure and track the quality of health care services that eligible professionals (EPs), eligible hospitals, and critical access hospitals (CAHs) provide, as generated by a provider’s electronic health record (EHR). These measurements are used to make sure that our healthcare system is providing safe, efficient, and effective quality care. For 2021, the measures are as follows:

1. Preventive care and screening: screening for depression and follow-up plan

2. Closing the referral loop: receipt of specialist report

3. Functional status assessment for total hip replacement

4. Functional status assessment for total knee replacement

5. Documentation of current medications in the medical record

6. Primary caries prevention intervention as offered by primary care providers, including dentists

7. Functional status assessments for congestive heart failure

8. Childhood immunization status

9. Diabetes: Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) poor control (>9%)

10. Cervical cancer screening

11. Breast cancer screening

12. Pneumococcal vaccination status for older adults

13. Antidepressant medication management

14. Colorectal cancer screening

15. Diabetes: eye exam

16. Diabetes: medical attention for nephropathy

17. Heart failure: angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or receptor blocker or angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor therapy for left ventricular systolic dysfunction.

18. Follow-up care for children prescribed ADHD medication

19. Preventive care and screening: tobacco use: screening and cessation intervention

20. Falls: screening for future fall risk

21. Heart failure: beta-blocker therapy for left ventricular systolic dysfunction

22. Coronary artery disease: beta-blocker therapy prior to myocardial infarction or left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVEF <40%)

23. Appropriate testing for pharyngitis

24. Preventive care and screening: influenza immunization

25. Dementia: cognitive assessment

26. Chlamydia screening for women

27. Appropriate treatment for upper respiratory infection

28. Weight assessment and counseling for nutrition and physical activity for children and adolescents

29. Initiation and engagement of alcohol and other drug dependence treatment

30. Use of high-risk medications in older adults

31. Oncology: Medical and radiation — pain intensity quantified

32. Depression readmission at 12 months

33. Adult major depressive disorder: suicide risk assessment

34. Controlling high blood pressure

35. Child and adolescent major depressive disorder: suicide risk assessment

36. Appropriate use of DXA scans in women under 65 years old who do not meet the risk factor profile for osteoporotic fracture

37. Statin therapy for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease

38. HIV screening

39. Bone density evaluation for patients with prostate cancer and receiving androgen deprivation therapy

Every year, CMS updates this list to reflect new changes- whether it be in evidence-based medicine, code sets, or measure logic.

Agents

We hope that this information on electronic clinical quality measures is useful to you.

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This Article Was Updated On 2/12/2025.