Grants Funded
ASPS/PSF leadership is committed to continuing to provide high levels of investigator-initiated research support to ensure that plastic surgeons have the needed research resources to be pioneers and innovators in advancing the practice of medicine.
Research Abstracts
Search The PSF database to have easy access to full-text grant abstracts from past PSF-funded research projects 2003 to present. All abstracts are the work of the Principal Investigators and were retrieved from their PSF grant applications. Several different filters may be applied to locate abstracts specific to a particular focus area or PSF funding mechanism.
Evaluating Plastic Surgeon Use of Qualified Clinical Data Registries
Principal Investigator
Adee Heiman MD
Adee Heiman MD
Year
2025
2025
Institution
University of Michigan Medical Center (Michigan Medicine)
University of Michigan Medical Center (Michigan Medicine)
Funding Mechanism
AAPS/PSF Research Grant
AAPS/PSF Research Grant
Focus Area
Economic Analysis/Quality/Outcome, Other
Economic Analysis/Quality/Outcome, Other
Abstract
Project Summary
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) maintain a list of quality metrics used in the Merit Based Incentive Program (MIPS), which seeks to stratify physician performance and allocate reimbursement accordingly. Several medical specialty societies have also developed Qualified Clinical Data Registries (QCDRs) that foster specialty- or disease-specific quality metrics. QCDR
measure use has been associated with greater MIPS quality scores and payment adjustments. However, these registries are expensive to develop and maintain. Our objective is to study the use of QCDRs among different surgical subspecialties. This is especially relevant to plastic surgeons, given the lack of Plastic Surgery-specific MIPS measures, the lower performance scores of
plastic surgeons compared to other specialties, and the closure of the American Society of Plastic Surgeon's QCDR in 2023 due to expense and low participation.
The aims of this project are to 1) describe and compare the current use of QCDR measures among different surgical subspecialties, 2) to evaluate the impact of QCDR measure use on individual surgeon and specialty-wide quality performance scores and assess the
overall financial benefit of using these measures, 3) to identify how individual versus group reporting affects the frequency and benefit of QCDR measure use. We hypothesize that although QCDR measure use will be associated with greater quality scores among surgeons reporting individually, surgeons reporting as part of multi-specialty groups will be less likely to use these metrics.
We will obtain data on reported quality metrics for all surgical subspecialties, physician demographic information, and cost data from CMS records and QCDR websites. We will compare QCDR measure use, quality scores, quality score variation, and payment adjustments between physicians and subspecialties that use QCDRs versus those who do not and stratify these results by individual
versus group reporting. Through this study, we can identify factors contributing to the success or failure of QCDRs and determine if there is any future for QCDRs in Plastic Surgery.
Impact Statement
By developing specialty-specific quality metrics, QCDRs can potentially improve the reliability of quality measurement in Surgery compared to traditional MIPS metrics. However, it is unclear whether the benefits of QCDRs outweigh the costs of maintaining these registries. By identifying time trends, specialty trends, reporting patterns, and the influence of QCDRs on quality scores and reimbursement, we can project the future of QCDRs and make recommendations on whether to revive or restructure these metrics within Plastic Surgery.
Project Summary
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) maintain a list of quality metrics used in the Merit Based Incentive Program (MIPS), which seeks to stratify physician performance and allocate reimbursement accordingly. Several medical specialty societies have also developed Qualified Clinical Data Registries (QCDRs) that foster specialty- or disease-specific quality metrics. QCDR
measure use has been associated with greater MIPS quality scores and payment adjustments. However, these registries are expensive to develop and maintain. Our objective is to study the use of QCDRs among different surgical subspecialties. This is especially relevant to plastic surgeons, given the lack of Plastic Surgery-specific MIPS measures, the lower performance scores of
plastic surgeons compared to other specialties, and the closure of the American Society of Plastic Surgeon's QCDR in 2023 due to expense and low participation.
The aims of this project are to 1) describe and compare the current use of QCDR measures among different surgical subspecialties, 2) to evaluate the impact of QCDR measure use on individual surgeon and specialty-wide quality performance scores and assess the
overall financial benefit of using these measures, 3) to identify how individual versus group reporting affects the frequency and benefit of QCDR measure use. We hypothesize that although QCDR measure use will be associated with greater quality scores among surgeons reporting individually, surgeons reporting as part of multi-specialty groups will be less likely to use these metrics.
We will obtain data on reported quality metrics for all surgical subspecialties, physician demographic information, and cost data from CMS records and QCDR websites. We will compare QCDR measure use, quality scores, quality score variation, and payment adjustments between physicians and subspecialties that use QCDRs versus those who do not and stratify these results by individual
versus group reporting. Through this study, we can identify factors contributing to the success or failure of QCDRs and determine if there is any future for QCDRs in Plastic Surgery.
Impact Statement
By developing specialty-specific quality metrics, QCDRs can potentially improve the reliability of quality measurement in Surgery compared to traditional MIPS metrics. However, it is unclear whether the benefits of QCDRs outweigh the costs of maintaining these registries. By identifying time trends, specialty trends, reporting patterns, and the influence of QCDRs on quality scores and reimbursement, we can project the future of QCDRs and make recommendations on whether to revive or restructure these metrics within Plastic Surgery.
Biography
I am an NIH T32 postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan in the Division of Plastic Surgery who is pursuing a career as an academic plastic surgeon. I graduated from the University of Louisville School of Medicine in 2017 and completed two years of
General Surgery residency at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa. Plastic Surgery has always been my passion, so in 2019, I made the difficult decision to leave my program to pursue this interest. I completed a research year with the Division of Plastic Surgery at Albany Medical Center where I contributed to multiple projects, published over 20 peer-reviewed manuscripts, and conducted oversight over all medical student research. This opportunity led to an Integrated Plastic Surgery residency position at Albany Medical Center the following year. After my fourth year of Plastic Surgery residency, I decided to take time away from clinical demands to pursue higher impact research through my current position at the University of Michigan, as well as through a Master’s
program in Health and Health Services Research. My current research centers on health policy within the realm of Plastic Surgery. This research will promote my career aspiration to contribute greater impact as a plastic surgeon and to advocate for my patients and colleagues on a national scale.
I am an NIH T32 postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan in the Division of Plastic Surgery who is pursuing a career as an academic plastic surgeon. I graduated from the University of Louisville School of Medicine in 2017 and completed two years of
General Surgery residency at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa. Plastic Surgery has always been my passion, so in 2019, I made the difficult decision to leave my program to pursue this interest. I completed a research year with the Division of Plastic Surgery at Albany Medical Center where I contributed to multiple projects, published over 20 peer-reviewed manuscripts, and conducted oversight over all medical student research. This opportunity led to an Integrated Plastic Surgery residency position at Albany Medical Center the following year. After my fourth year of Plastic Surgery residency, I decided to take time away from clinical demands to pursue higher impact research through my current position at the University of Michigan, as well as through a Master’s
program in Health and Health Services Research. My current research centers on health policy within the realm of Plastic Surgery. This research will promote my career aspiration to contribute greater impact as a plastic surgeon and to advocate for my patients and colleagues on a national scale.