CMS Core Measures success is about documentation

Implications: P$P programs, like CMS Core Measures, while a valuable goal, are primarily about documentation. Documenting the proper activities occurred, within the accepted timeframes is what Core Measures is all about. Did you give the AMI patient aspirin soon enough to be effective, did the pneumonia patient get the correct medication early enough?

Analysis: Pay for Performance initiatives are all about identifying the condition and applying the correct treatment as quickly as possible. This lands smack dab in the domain of Electronic Medical Records systems. EMR vendors like GE, Quality Systems and AllScripts on the Ambulatory side and McKesson, Cerner, Eclipsys and EPIC on the acute care side will be the beneficiaries of the P$P drive in physician offices and hospitals respectively.