EQRS News Flash: Patient SSN/MBI Verification and Editing in EQRS

January 11, 2023

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have implemented a new data verification and modification process for patient Social Security Number (SSN) and Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) data in the End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Quality Reporting System (EQRS).

SSNs and MBIs in patient records are now compared against CMS Enrollment Database (EDB) records. Once a patient is matched to a patient in the EDB, EQRS populates the SSN, MBI, and Medicare Enrollment Status data for the patient with the patient’s SSN, MBI, and Medicare Enrollment Status data from the EDB and locks those fields in EQRS from future manual edits.

Resolving Issues with Incorrect Data

If the patient’s SSN, MBI, or Medicare Enrollment Status is locked but incorrect, this means that EQRS has obtained the incorrect data from the EDB, and that incorrect data is contained in the Social Security Administration (SSA) database. The patient will need to contact their local SSA office and ensure that their SSN, MBI, and/or Medicare Enrollment Status is correct in the SSA database. EQRS will refresh each patient’s data a minimum of once per month and will obtain any updated data from the EDB once it is corrected.

If you need technical assistance with EQRS, please contact the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality (CCSQ) Service Center. The CCSQ Service Center is open Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time and can be reached via phone at (866) 288-8912, email at qnetsupport-esrd@hcqis.org, or by going to CCSQ Support Center.

If you are having technical issues with the EQRS user interface, please contact the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality (CCSQ) Service Center. The CCSQ Service Center is open Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time and can be reached via phone at (866) 288-8912, email at qnetsupport-esrd@cms.hhs.gov, or by going to CCSQ Support Central. For general EQRS questions and questions about the ESRD Quality Incentive Program, please use the QualityNet Q&A Tool.