1. Quality Category Overhaul (30%)

CMS doubles down on outcome-based medicine, requiring:
✓ Chronic care management performance tracking
✓ Preventive care quality measures (e.g., cancer screenings, diabetes care)
✓ Patient safety indicators (medication reconciliation, infection prevention)

Pro Tip: Focus on high-priority measures like #134 (Preventive Care Screening) and #226 (Tobacco Use Screening).

2. Cost Measures Get Smarter (30%)

New episode-based cost measures evaluate:
➔ Hospital readmission rates
➔ Chronic condition management costs
➔ Post-acute care spending

Critical Insight: CMS now tracks total cost of care across 90-day episodes.

3. Health Equity Takes Center Stage (15%)

2025 introduces health equity bonus points for:
✓ CARE for underserved populations (rural, low-income)
✓ SDOH (Social Determinants of Health) documentation
✓ Multilingual patient education materials

Must-Do: Implement Z-code documentation for SDOH factors.

4. Stricter Interoperability Rules (25%)

New FHIR API requirements mandate:
➔ Real-time patient data access
➔ Bi-directional health information exchange
➔ Digital patient engagement tools

Compliance Alert: Ensure your EHR has 2025 ONC-certification.