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2020: A Year in Review
2020 was a challenging year for everyone. Through it all, the AQUA Registry was here to help your practice meet your quality improvement goals. As we reflect on the past year, we would like to share with you some of the milestones we have reached together.
National Coverage
Registry Participants by the Numbers:
1,694 Providers
140 Active Practices
40 States
As a result, the AQUA Registry is creating a robust, real-world dataset from:
Over 7,000 Unique Patients
More than 90,000,000 documented medication orders
Top 5 Procedures from more than 100,000,000 procedures documented
- Urinalysis
- Urodynamic Procedures on the bladder
- Immunology
- Endoscopy-Cystoscopy, Urethroscopy and Custourethroscopy
- Hydration, Therapeutic, Prophylactic and Diagnostic Injections
Quality Measures in 2020
For the 2020 reporting year, the AQUA Registry supported 61 quality measures including 17 non-QPP (urology-specific), 25 QPP and 19 eCQM (electronic clinical quality) measures. The CMS-approved non-QPP measures address conditions such as prostate cancer and castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), urinary stones, azoospermia, bladder cancer, and hypogonadism.
For the first time, five urology-specific measures offered by the AQUA Registry received historical benchmark status from CMS. These measures include AQUA8, AQUA15, AQUA18, AQUA26 and MUSIC11 and could gain the eligible professional up to 10 points each in the 2020 MIPS reporting year.
Urology-specific measures, such as the measures listed above, provide the opportunity to track, monitor and report on areas that are relevant to urologists and their patients. A measure must be used by a minimum of 20 providers, for at least 20 eligible patients each, within a given 12-month reporting period, within the same calendar year, to receive the CMS benchmark designation. Benchmarked measures provide a baseline of standard practices and help identify potential areas of improvement, including efficiency, quality of care, patient safety and patient satisfaction.
Verana Health Partnership
On April 13, 2020, the AUA announced it had entered into a collaboration with Verana Health, a healthcare technology firm focused on curating and analyzing health care data to advance medical research and innovative medical care for patients. Learn More
Two studies utilizing real-world data from the AQUA Registry were published
The first of many publications to come utilizing the robust data in the AQUA Registry, the following papers share valuable information that will help shape the future of urology.
- Significant management Variability of Urethral stricture Disease in United States
- Characteristics of Participants in the AUA Quality (AQUA) Registry and Early Impact of Participation on Quality of Care
Podcast: AQUA Registry – An Insider’s View by Dr. Ronald Suh
A podcast episode on AUA Inside Tract featuring Dr. Ronald Suh of Urology of Indiana was released. In this episode, Dr. Suh shared his practice’s experiences with the AQUA Registry discussing his insight into reporting MIPS through the registry, access to urology-specific measures, quality improvement opportunities, collaborations with the ABU, interactions with the AQUA Registry team and much more.
Recorded Dashboard Webinars
AUA and FIGmd jointly hosted live webinars to assist participants in navigating the AQUA Registry dashboard. Recordings of the webinars are available upon request. Contact AQUA@AUAnet.org.
Dashboard Efficiencies
A new version of the “My Account” feature was released on your AQUA Registry dashboard. “My Account” is a centralized account management system where users with administrative rights can:
- Manage their end-to-end participation requirements
- Manage organizational information
- View, edit, add and delete clinicians, locations and users in one place
- If your organization is a multi-specialty practice, there may be providers outside of urology participating in various other FIGmd-operated registries—based on their specialty
New Improvement Activity Supported
COVID-19 Clinical Trials (IA_ERP_3) is now supported by the AQUA Registry for the 2020 MIPS performance period. Learn More
A Look Ahead
New Subscription Levels and Pricing Model
The AUA is excited to announce new AQUA Registry participation options and pricing structures. As of January 2021, the Basic and Classic subscription levels will be combined into a new Standard option, which will be offered as a complimentary benefit of AUA membership. This decision was made to align Registry participation with AUA's mission to promote the highest standards of urologic clinical care to its members. Optional CMS reporting services are available for purchase to those practices that wish to utilize the AQUA Registry to satisfy their MIPS reporting requirements.
Quality Measures in 2021
A PDF of the 2021 AQUA Registry measures is being provided as a reference.
Important Dates
| 2021 | |
| JAN 15 | Deadline to complete the 2021 AQUA Registry Practice Set-up / Renewal Process |
| FEB 01 | Deadline to Submit an Extreme and Uncontrollable Circumstances Exemption Application for 2020 MIPS |
| FEB 16 | Deadline to Submit Data Release Consent Form (DRCF) for 2020 MIPS Reporting |
| MAR 02 | AQUA Registry MIPS Submission Deadline |
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