IRIS Registry EHR Integration and MIPS Reporting FAQs
Expanded Partnership of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Verana Health
Introduction
As the data curation and analytics partner of the American Academy of Ophthalmology IRIS® Registry (Intelligent Research in Sight), Verana Health transforms clinical data into actionable real-world evidence that accelerates medical research and helps physicians improve their patient care.
On April 28, 2020, the Academy announced an expansion of their relationship with Verana Health. Going forward, Verana Health will assume responsibility for EHR integration, practice support and MIPS (Merit-Based Incentive Payment System) quality reporting for physicians and practices participating in the IRIS Registry.
The IRIS Registry is the largest specialty database in all of medicine. It was built by Academy members and is growing daily. This remarkable resource, paired with the Academy and Verana Health, positions ophthalmology to become the most data-empowered specialty in medicine.
Why did the Academy select Verana Health as their IRIS Registry partner?
Our partnership enhances the IRIS Registry’s value for Academy members.
Verana Health was selected as the Academy’s new end-to-end data and technology partner for the IRIS Registry to:
- Offer an enhanced physician experience that is highly reliable and responsive to practice needs
- Provide MIPS reporting with the highest degree of quality
- Ensure the exceptional data quality required to provide the ophthalmic community with meaningful insights and technology applications
Verana Health’s deep expertise in data curation and analytics ensures the exceptional data quality required to provide the ophthalmic community with meaningful insights and technology applications.
When will my practice be integrated?
The transition to Verana Health is in progress and will continue over the next few years as Verana Health integrates with each electronic health record (EHR) system. The current registry services provider will continue to support your practice until your transition is complete and your new quality measures dashboard is ready.
Integration with Verana Health Data Link will be rolled out based on EHR system. When your practice’s EHR system is available for EHR integration and quality reporting through Verana Health, we will reach out to your practice and invite you to begin onboarding.
Your practice will work with a dedicated Verana Health Practice Experience Manager who will be your practice’s main point person. Their goal is to provide you with excellent customer service and ensure a seamless transition.
What is the expected time and resource commitment for my practice?
The time and resource commitment depends on your practice’s EHR system and any customizations your practice has made to your EHR system. However, the process is not expected to require a significant amount of your staff’s time. Practices should expect a brief kick-off call and a few email exchanges to put required documentation and credentials in place. Verana Health will require limited time from the practice to establish a data connection and validate data quality.
How will this impact my practice’s MIPS reporting to CMS?
There will be no impact on your practice’s 2020 and 2021 MIPS reporting. FIGmd will continue to provide MIPS reporting until your transition to Verana Health is complete. FIGmd will also continue to support practices that report MIPS via manual data entry.
Your practice’s Verana Health Quality Measures dashboard for MIPS reporting will be available once your Verana Health Data Link integration is complete. Your Practice Experience Manager will keep you up to date and let you know when it is time to start reporting MIPS via Verana Health.
Your new dashboard will enable your practice’s physicians to view and filter their performance across quality measures, and will include the same feature set as the current dashboard with more visibility into measure score calculation methodologies and an enhanced user interface for easier navigation.
How will Verana Health use my practice’s data?
Physicians and practices are contracted with the American Academy of Ophthalmology to contribute their EHR data to the IRIS Registry. Verana Health operates as a business associate under HIPAA to assist the IRIS Registry with MIPS reporting, improve data quality and de-identify the data. Once the registry data has been de-identified and can no longer be traced back to any individual patient, practice, or ophthalmologist, Verana Health curates and analyzes de-identified, aggregate data to provide insights to life science companies and research institutions with the goal of advancing scientific discovery and improving the treatments available to your patients.
How is my practice’s data protected?
Physicians who participate in the IRIS Registry have always owned their data and will continue to do so with Verana Health. Individual physician and patient data always has been and will continue to be de-identified and analyzed on an aggregate level. The Academy and Verana Health work together to ensure that the highest levels of data security are maintained. Learn more about Verana Health’s patient privacy policies at www.veranahealth.com/patient-privacy.