CMS again signs with McKesson for InterQual to support Medicare

NEWTON, Mass. McKesson Corp. announced Tuesday that it plans to contract with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to use McKesson’s InterQual products.

The contract, administered on behalf of CMS by the Iowa Foundation for Medical Care, allows quality improvement organizations to use InterQual—through an enhanced version of Web-based InterQual Online—to review clinical appropriateness decisions for Medicare recipients. Last year, 89 percent of the country’s QIOs used InterQual through the contract, which CMS and McKesson will renew for the ninth time this year.

“The real key to helping our clients maximize the value of InterQual is ensuring that the users are fully trained,” said Tammie Phillips, vice president of InterQual for McKesson Health Solutions. “To that end, we are excited to be enhancing our service offering this year by providing certified instructor training to the QIOs.”