MIPS is a value-based program for individual and group outpatient physician practices. It is a program that started in 2017, and it was enacted by the MACRA Act of 2015. Together with the APMs program, MIPS comprises Medicare's Quality Payment Program (QPP). It replaces and consolidates previous value-based programs, such as the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) and the Value Modifier (VM) program. Provider groups are required to participate in MIPS if they bill a certain amount from or have a certain amount of Medicare patients. In MIPS, providers are evaluated based on four categories:

• Quality
• Advancing care information
• Improvement activities
• Cost

The breakdown for determining a practice's final MIPS score for 2017 is the following: 60% quality, 25% advancing care information, and 15% improvement activities. Beginning in 2018, the cost will also determine the final MIPS score.

Let's take a detailed look at the four performance categories.