Why MIPS-eligible clinicians need an EIDM account
TMF Health Quality Institute
The Enterprise Identity Management system enables health care providers to establish a single user ID to use across multiple CMS applications. Clinicians and applicable practice staff should have an EIDM account. This article will explain why clinicians who are eligible for the Merit-based Incentive Payment System should have an account and how to open and maintain an account.
What can I do with an EIDM account?
Providers and their practices should have an EIDM account so they can use the CMS Enterprise Portal and the Quality Payment Program Portal and access the reports contained in both.
QPP Portal — The QPP Portal (https://qpp.cms.gov/login) can be used to submit measures for MIPS. It is advised by CMS to have your EIDM account credentials ready before the QPP Portal opens for MIPS data submission. You also can sign in to the QPP Portal with your EIDM credentials to view scores from previous MIPS reporting; preliminary scores are available until final scores are determined.
CMS Enterprise Portal — The reports housed in your CMS Enterprise Portal (https://portal.cms.gov/wps/portal/unauthportal/home/) may help you strategize your approach to MIPS each year. Sign in to access your most recent Quality and Resource Use Report and gain understanding of your provider’s previously attributed patients. When reviewing the QRUR report, a practice can better understand its past performance related to the MIPS Quality and Cost categories by seeing its spending and cost patterns, as well as knowing the beneficiaries attributed to each clinician.
How do I get an EIDM account?
Prior to beginning your EIDM account application, review the provider list and demographics in the Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System (PECOS) to ensure all information is current. If updates are needed, call (866) 484-8049 or go to https://pecos.cms.hhs.gov/pecos/login.do#headingLv1. Brief tutorial videos on making updates are available.
When you’re ready to start, gather the following information:
- All individual National Provider Identifiers; and
- Provider Transaction Access Number — this is issued to individual providers from the Medicare Administrative Contractors upon enrollment to Medicare. The individual PTAN is required. PTANs are alphanumeric; you will enter the letters and numbers, including all leading zeros.
Note: Group practices must enter two valid individual NPI/PTAN combinations during registration.
After checking PECOS and gathering the above information, visit https://portal.cms.gov/ and select “New User Registration.” Use the EIDM User Guide for detailed instructions. Once you have opened your EIDM account, select the specific access you need for MIPS. Log in to the EIDM account and find “Physician Quality and Value Programs.” Select “Request Access.”
- If you are the first person in your practice to sign up and register your practice in the EIDM, select “Create an Organization.” If your practice already exists in the EIDM system and you are signing up for a role, select “Associate to an Existing Organization” (type in minimal information to search, such as your TIN and state).
- Under “Select a Group,” if you are a solo practitioner, select ”Provider Approver > Individual Practitioner.” If you have two or more providers, select “Provider Approver > Security Official.”
Note: If you completed your registration for an EIDM account and your status is pending, this typically means that an EIDM account is already set up for your practice and is pending approval from your practice’s designated individual with an Approver Role. That individual has a pending approval for the account and you will need to notify that person to approve your role. If that person is no longer at the practice, call (888) 734-6433 or email pvhelpdesk@cms.hhs.gov to ask the CMS Help Desk to facilitate de-activating the role. To avoid this problem in the future, consider adding an additional staff member to these roles as a backup in case someone leaves the practice or is unable to log in.
How do I maintain my EIDM account?
Each time you log in to your EIDM account, multi-factor authentication — or MFA — is required. Additional information on the MFA may be found at Questions and Answers about Remote Identity Proofing and Multi-Factor Authentication. The password to your EIDM account must be changed every 60 days. The account will be locked if this is not completed. Placing a recurring reminder on your calendar will help you prevent lock-outs.
Free support for MIPS
TMF Quality Improvement Consultants are available to assist you at no cost in reviewing your reports and planning for MIPS.
Contact a TMF Quality Improvement Consultant for EIDM or any MIPS-related questions.
- Call (844) 317-7609.
- Email QPP-SURS@tmf.org.
- Complete a Request for Support form.
For more information on this topic, access the following resources:
- Visit https://tmf.org/qpp for an overview of available QPP support and how to contact TMF.
- Visit https://tmfqin.org/qpp and create a free QPP Learning and Action Network account. You can then access various resources and webinars.
- Log in to your free QPP LAN account and view the recorded webinar “Do We Need an EIDM Account? Why Every Practice Needs Access to the CMS Enterprise Portal,” which was held May 9, 2018.
- Visit the CMS EIDM Overview webpage: https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/CMS-Information-Technology/EnterpriseIdentityManagement/EIDM-Overview.html.