Traditional MIPS is the original reporting option available to MIPS eligible clinicians for collecting and reporting data to MIPS. The improvement activities performance category measures participation in activities that improve clinical practice.
Requirements may change each due to policy changes.
Performance Year
Select your performance year.
2024 Performance Year Improvement Activities Requirements
15% OF FINAL SCORE
This percentage can change due to special statuses, exception applications or Alternative Payment Model (APM) Entity participation.
This page provides an overview of improvement activities requirements for traditional MIPS. For information regarding the improvement activities requirements for the MIPS Value Pathways (MVPs) reporting option, visit Explore MVPs. To learn more about improvement activities under the APM Performance Pathway (APP), visit Improvement Activities: APP Requirements.
What Improvement Activities Data Should I Submit?
To earn full credit in this performance category, you must generally submit one of the following combinations of activities:
- 2 ,
- 1 high-weighted activity and 2 , or
- 4 medium-weighted activities.
Improvement activities have a minimum of a continuous 90-day performance period (during calendar year (CY) 2024) unless otherwise stated in the activity description. Each activity must be performed in CY 2024, but multiple activities don’t have to be performed during the same 90-day, or otherwise specified, period.
For group and APM Entity reporting, a group, , or APM Entity can to an activity when at least 50% of the clinicians in the group, virtual group, or APM Entity perform the same activity during any continuous 90-day period (or as specified in the activity description) in the same performance year.
How Should I Submit Data?
There are 3 submission types you can use for improvement activities, depending on which you are. The are:
- Sign in and attest
- Sign in and upload
- via (API)
Determine how to submit data based on your submitter type below.
Submitter Type | |||
---|---|---|---|
MIPS eligible clinician | |||
A representative of a practice, virtual group, or APM Entity | |||
Third party intermediary |
How Are Activities Scored?
High-weighted activities receive 20 points and medium-weighted activities receive 10 points. There is a maximum of 40 points that can be earned from attesting to activities in this performance category.
Special Status
You’ll receive double points for each high- or medium-weighted activity you submit if you’re an individual clinician, group, virtual group, or APM Entity that holds a qualifying . You can check for any special status by signing in to qpp.cms.gov. Small status designation for APM Entities will be displayed in mid-2024.
Learn more about special statuses.
APM Participants
If you’re a clinician in any APM participating in traditional MIPS, you’ll earn half credit (50%) automatically for the improvement activities performance category when you submit data for another performance category.
Patient-Centered Medical Homes
If you’re a participant in a recognized or certified patient-centered medical home or comparable specialty practice, you’ll earn the maximum improvement activity performance category score by attesting to this during the submission period. (For organizations with multiple practice sites, at least 50% of these locations must be recognized or certified patient-centered medical homes or comparable specialty practices to attest.)
To be eligible for patient-centered medical home or comparable specialty practice designation, the practice needs to meet one of the following:
- Have received accreditation from an accreditation organization that is nationally recognized; or
- Be participating in a Medicaid Medical Home Model or Medical Home Model; or
- Be a comparable specialty practice that has received recognition through a specialty recognition program offered through a nationally recognized accreditation organization; or
- Have received accreditation from other certifying bodies that have certified a large number of medical organizations and meet national guidelines, as determined by the Secretary.
The following are examples of accreditation organizations that are nationally recognized:
- The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC)
- The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)
- The Joint Commission
- The Utilization Review Accreditation Commission (URAC)
- The Compliance Team