On February 21, 2014, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that, for the first time, quality measures have now been added to the Physician Compare website.

The Physician Compare website was created by the Affordable Care Act in order to help consumers search for information about Medicare-enrolled providers and make informed choices about care.  Physician Compare data comes primarily from the PECOS provider enrollment system.  However, quality of care data is now included on Physician Compare.

The quality measures added to Physician Compare today include:

• Controlling blood sugar levels in patients with diabetes.

• Controlling blood pressure in patients with diabetes.

• Prescribing aspirin to patients with diabetes and heart disease.

• Patients with diabetes who do not use tobacco.

• Prescribing medicine to improve the pumping action of the heart in patients who have both heart disease and certain other conditions.

Data is currently available for 66 group practices and 141 accountable care organizations (ACOs) based on data from the CMS Physician Quality Reporting System’s Group Reporting Option and ACO participants in the Medicare Shared Savings Program. In order to make the information usable for consumers, provider ratings are displayed using stars and the actual percentage score for measures.

According to the CMS Physician Compare Reporting Plan, additional group measures and individual performance measures will be forthcoming beginning later this year if technically feasible.