CHICAGO — As physicians begin the second year of quality reporting under the Quality Payment Program (QPP), the American Medical Association is launching a series of podcasts on ReachMD to help physicians successfully navigate the new regulations. Physicians can stay up to date with the latest developments in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ QPP by listening to the new series, “Inside Medicare’s New Payment System.”

Three new 15-minute podcasts are now available to download and listen on demand:

• AMA President Answers Top Questions About the Quality Payment Program: A board-certified family physician and hospital administrator, AMA President David O. Barbe, MD, offers his insight into how the new regulations will affect physicians’ practices.
• How Small Practices Can Comply with MIPS Quality Reporting Requirements: Richard Deem, the AMA’s senior vice president of advocacy, explains how the new regulations particularly affect small practices and what physicians in these practices must know to succeed.
• The Technical Assistance You’ll Need for the Quality Payment Programs Changes: To smooth the transition to QPP, two experts discuss what technical assistance is available to help physicians navigate the new regulatory plan. Dr. Edward Sobel, medical director at Quality Insights, and Temaka Williams, a health information technology adviser at Telligen, offer a guide to available resources.

Transcripts are also available. Additional podcasts will be released soon, and the AMA website has additional resources to help physician practices be successful under QPP.

“The AMA is working hard to help physicians succeed under QPP, but complying with a host of new regulations can be time consuming and confusing. These podcasts — along with the AMA’s numerous, timely and relevant resources — will enable physicians to navigate unfamiliar waters,” Barbe said.

These new tools build on earlier, significant AMA efforts to ensure that physicians and their practices are prepared for MACRA: The MACRA webpage on the AMA’s website has been a source of information on the changes facing physicians and their practices, and will continue to be a frequently updated source of information as the regulations are fine-tuned.

The AMA, in collaboration with the Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative grant awarded by CMS, also is providing technical assistance and peer-level support by way of STEPS Forward™ practice improvement resources to enrolled practices. The AMA is also engaging the national physician community in health care transformation through network projects, change packages, success stories and training modules.

Additionally, AMA Wire® has kept physicians current on what is happening with MACRA and offering guidance on how to navigate the new system.