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<strong>CMS</strong>-1403-FC<br />

In its March 2005 Report to Congress, MedPAC<br />

recommended that <strong>CMS</strong> use Medicare claims data to measure<br />

physicians’ resource use and share the results<br />

confidentially with physicians to educate them about how<br />

their resource use compares with aggregated peer<br />

performance. MedPAC envisioned that resource use<br />

measurement and feedback could encourage physicians to<br />

reduce the volume and intensity of the services they<br />

provide without sacrificing quality of care, thereby<br />

improving efficiency. 3<br />

In response to this MedPAC recommendation, we launched<br />

a study to develop resource use reports (RURs), in early<br />

2006, with an initial focus on high cost imaging services.<br />

In Stage I of this study, we developed RURs for physician<br />

referral and utilization patterns for echocardiograms,<br />

along with a concentration on echocardiograms for patients<br />

with congestive heart failure. We worked with two<br />

healthcare systems in Madison, WI and Cleveland, OH to<br />

recruit physicians for the study. We used Medicare fee-<br />

for-service (FFS) claims data for the recruited physicians<br />

to populate RURs. Based on the feedback received during<br />

stage I, we redesigned the RURs (stage II) and focused on<br />

3 Medicare Payment Policy. Medicare Payment Advisory Commission Report to Congress. March 2005.<br />

Chapter 3. http://www.medpac.gov/<strong>document</strong>s/Mar05_EntireReport.pdf.<br />

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