Care Compare: Doctors and Clinicians Initiative

Care Compare: Doctors and Clinicians Initiative

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) publicly reports Quality Payment Program (QPP) performance information, if available, for individual clinicians, groups, and Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) on the Doctors and Clinicians sections of the Medicare.gov compare tool profile pages and in the Provider Data Catalog.

Spotlight and Announcements

CY 2023 DAC Preview Period Has Reopened

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has reopened the calendar year (CY) 2023 Doctors and Clinicians (DAC) Preview Period. The Preview Period will remain open until Thursday, August 21, 2025, at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT).

As a reminder, CMS publicly reports Quality Payment Program (QPP) performance information, if available, on the profile pages of clinicians and groups on the Medicare.gov compare tool and in the Provider Data Catalog (PDC). Before the performance information becomes public, clinicians can review their information in the secure preview on the QPP website.

CMS reopened the Preview Period because adjustments were made resulting in the addition of 2 clinician quality measures and 17 group quality measures available for public reporting. CMS also made updates and display corrections to the CY 2023 QPP performance data available during the Preview Period that closed in June.

Even if you already reviewed your CY 2023 QPP performance information during the previous Preview Period, CMS encourages you to review your performance information again for any changes before this information is released to the public.

CMS revised the CY 2023 QPP performance information documents available for preview. These documents are available in the Downloads section of this webpage and in the 2023 Doctors and Clinicians Preview Period file (1MB) (ZIP) in the QPP Resource Library:

For step-by-step instructions on how to review your information in the secure preview, check out the Doctors and Clinicians Preview Period: Performance Information video.

Note that ACO group-level data won’t be available on the QPP website during the Preview Period. Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) eligible clinicians who participate in Medicare Shared Savings Program ACOs will be able to preview their performance information in their CY 2023 MIPS Performance Feedback or in their Performance Year (PY) 2023 Medicare Shared Savings Program Quality Performance Reports. The CY 2023 Clinicians Public Reporting (445KB) (PDF) includes a list of ACO performance information planned for public reporting.

For more help accessing the QPP website or getting your Health Care Quality Improvement Systems (HCQIS) Access Roles and Profile (HARP) user role, email the QPP Service Center at QPP@cms.hhs.gov. To learn how to sign up for a HARP account, review the QPP Access User Guide (4MB) (ZIP).

If you have any questions about public reporting of clinicians and groups on the compare tool on Medicare.gov, contact the QPP Service Center by emailing QPP@cms.hhs.gov, submitting a QPP Service Center ticket, or calling 1-866-288-8292 (Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. ET).

People who are deaf or hard of hearing can call 711 to connect with a Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) Communications Assistant.

2024 AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting Posters

The Doctors and Clinicians (DAC) team presented the following informational posters at the AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting held June 29–July 2, 2024:

Additional Procedures Data Now Available on Medicare.gov Compare Tool

As part of CMS' ongoing effort to inform patients and caregivers about clinicians’ experiences, CMS has added new procedures to the utilization data on the profile pages of clinicians on the Medicare.gov compare tool.

In January 2024, CMS added the first procedure volume data file with information for 12 procedures publicly reported on Medicare.gov compare tool profile pages for doctors and clinicians:

  1. Hip replacement
  2. Knee replacement
  3. Spinal fusion
  4. Cataract surgery
  5. Colonoscopy
  6. Hernia repair – groin (open)
  7. Hernia repair (minimally invasive)
  8. Mastectomy
  9. Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG)
  10. Pacemaker insertion or repair
  11. Coronary angioplasty and stenting
  12. Prostate resection

The July 2024 release expands the list of procedures to include: 

  1. Upper endoscopy
  2. Arthroscopy – upper extremity
  3. Arthroscopy – lower extremity
  4. Varicose vein ablation
  5. Laminectomy/laminotomy (lumbar)
  6. Lower limb revascularization

The procedures added to profile pages were performed by doctors and clinicians for Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage patients in the previous 12 months, after allowing a three-month claim processing period (for example, claims for dates of service occurring between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023, that were processed by April 1, 2024). CMS will continue to add more procedures to Medicare.gov compare tool profile pages periodically, as feasible.

The Utilization (Procedure Volume) Data Published on the Compare Tool on Medicare.gov July 2024 fact sheet (386.64KB) (PDF) provides the full list of procedures and background information about CMS’ reporting of procedure volume data. The current procedure volume data file is available as part of the doctors and clinicians datasets.

2022 Quality Payment Program (QPP) Performance Information Now Available on the Medicare.gov Compare Tool 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) added new 2022 Quality Payment Program (QPP) performance information for doctors, clinicians, groups, virtual groups, and Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) to clinician and group profile pages on the Medicare.gov compare tool and in the Provider Data Catalog (PDC). CMS is required to report MIPS eligible clinicians’ final scores and performances under each MIPS performance category, names of eligible clinicians in Advanced  Alternative Payment Models (APMs) and, to the extent feasible, the names and performance of such Advanced APMs. Performance information for doctors and clinicians is displayed using measure-level star ratings, percent performance scores, and checkmarks.

Medicare patients and caregivers can use the compare tool on Medicare.gov to search for and compare doctors, clinicians, and groups who are enrolled in Medicare. Publicly reporting 2022 QPP performance information helps empower patients to select and access the right care from the right provider.

Refer to the documents below for more details about the 2022 QPP performance information that has been added to clinician and group profile pages on the Medicare.gov compare tool and in the PDC: 

2024 CMS Quality Conference Posters

During the 2024 CMS Quality Conference held April 8–10, the Doctors and Clinicians team presented the following informational posters:

Address Suppression Available for Clinicians Providing Telehealth or Other Non-Patient-Facing Services From Their Homes

Doctors and clinicians who provide telehealth-only or other non-patient-facing services in their homes can suppress their street addresses on Medicare.gov compare tool profile pages.

A doctor or clinician may need to enroll their home address as a practice location but prefer their personal contact information not be publicly reported. Doctors and clinicians can either mark the address as a “Home office for administrative/telehealth use only” location in the Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS), which will suppress street address details, or email the QPP Service Center to suppress the street address and/or phone number. In such cases, CMS maintains city, state, and zip code information so that doctors and clinicians can still be included in searches and have their performance information reported.

CMS may also suppress street addresses when there’s a safety concern related to a clinician’s practice location information being publicly available.

For more information, please visit the About the Data and Frequently Asked Questions sections of the Care Compare: Doctors and Clinicians Initiative webpage.

Now Available: Telehealth Indicator for Doctors and Clinicians on Care Compare

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) added a new telehealth indicator on profile pages for doctors and clinicians on the Medicare.gov compare tool and the Provider Data Catalog (PDC). The indicator may help beneficiaries and caregivers more easily find clinicians who provide telehealth services. 

Telemedicine services expanded in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency to improve patients’ access to care. The telehealth indicator is the latest example of CMS’ efforts to ensure the compare tool on Medicare.gov provides patients and caregivers with information about services they may value as they search for clinicians.

For more information, access the Telehealth Indicator on Medicare Care Compare: Doctors and Clinicians Public Reporting fact sheet (583KB) (PDF).

Medicare.gov Compare Tool Update: Additional Doctor and Clinician Facility Affiliation Information Now Included

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated doctor and clinician profile pages on the Medicare.gov compare tool to include facility affiliation information for the following facility types, as applicable (in addition to the hospital affiliations previously available):

  • Long-term Care Hospitals (LTCHs)
  • Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs)
  • Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRFs)
  • Home Health Agencies
  • Hospices
  • Dialysis Facilities

This update, which includes links from doctor and clinician profile pages to specify facility profile pages, may help patients and caregivers since it:

  • Provides additional information to support patients and caregivers as they make health care decisions.
  • Offers information about clinicians who aren’t affiliated with a hospital but work in other types of health care facilities.
  • Creates additional quality information linkages between clinicians and facilities across the compare tool on Medicare.gov pages.

Visit doctor and clinician profile pages on Medicare.gov to access this update. The facility affiliations are displayed in a dedicated “Affiliations” section for easy access. Doctor and clinician group membership will continue to be listed separately in the “Details” section as a fundamental part of a clinician’s profile.

Medicare.gov Compare Tool Update: Expanded Archive for Doctors and Clinicians - Now Available

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has expanded the archive for doctors and clinicians in the Provider Data Catalog (PDC) on Medicare.gov. This expansion allows users to access historical Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) program performance data that were previously publicly reported since the program’s inception in 2017.

Prior to this archive expansion, CMS publicly reported one year of MIPS performance data at a time. This update benefits doctors, clinicians, researchers, and other interested parties who want access to historical MIPS performance data previously publicly reported. 

The addition of historical information to CMS’ publicly reported information supports overall data transparency and aligns the types of information reported for all provider settings. Users can access the archive files (187MB) (ZIP).

Caution

CMS strongly cautions users against using the historical data to draw year-to-year performance comparisons. There are several aspects of the MIPS program and public reporting standards that make it inappropriate to make such comparisons – especially of measure-level performance over time. Additional details and information are available in the MIPS Data Archive on Care Compare: Doctors and Clinicians fact sheet and disclaimer (135KB) (PDF).

2023 CMS Health Equity Conference Poster

The Doctors and Clinicians team presented a poster, Helping Increase Access to Care: The Doctors and Clinicians Profile Pages on the Medicare.Gov Compare Tool (404KB) (PDF) at the inaugural CMS Health Equity Conference held June 7–8, 2023. The poster describes how doctor and clinician profile pages advance health equity by supporting access to care and ensuring that the information on the Medicare.gov compare tool is accessible to all. 

The poster summarizes how patients and caregivers can search for doctors and clinicians and review practice and performance information (if available). Information about payment amounts and the availability of telehealth may help all users access care, and it may be especially valuable to populations facing financial barriers, residing in medically underserved areas or managing disability. The poster also describes CMS’ robust, health equity-informed approach, including the use of plain language, user testing, support for users without internet access, and maintaining a separate Spanish-language site, which helps ensure that information on the profile pages is accessible to diverse users.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about public reporting for doctors and clinicians on the Medicare.gov compare tool, contact the Quality Payment Program (QPP) Service Center by email at QPP@cms.hhs.gov, by creating a QPP Service Center ticket, or by phone at 1-866-288-8292 (Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. ET).

To receive assistance more quickly, especially during busier periods such as the submission window, please consider calling during non-peak hours—before 10 a.m. and after 2 p.m. ET.

People who are deaf or hard of hearing can dial 711 to be connected to a Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) Communications Assistant. 

To receive updates, subscribe to the QPP and Care Compare: Doctors and Clinicians listservs.

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Page Last Modified:
07/24/2025 02:31 PM
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