CHICAGO—In 2026, the ACR will launch a new RISE registry that should be a much better quality improvement platform than its predecessor, which has been in operation since 2014. Instead of focusing solely on quality improvement measures mandated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for the MACRA program, the new version will allow members to access nearly 30 quality measures through a modern data framework. Along with supporting quality improvement, the new RISE will encourage rheumatologists to share their data in a feedback loop, creating a learning environment in which rheumatology practices and providers can improve their quality of care.
In an ACR Convergence 2025 session titled RISE Rollout: New Features, What to Expect and Future Directions with the New Platform, Tom Tack, senior director of the ACR; David Voccola of IQVIA, Patients Insights Experience & Registries; and Christie Bartels, MD, MS, division head and professor of rheumatology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and ACR RHIT chair, spoke on what ACR members can expect from the new registry and why it is important to join.
Why a New Registry?
Mr. Tack said the RISE update is not simply a facelift, but a transformation from a quality reporting tool to a full-on productivity tool that expands quality improvement beyond the traditional Merit-Based Incentive Payment (MIPS)/MVP focus. With feedback from key stakeholders, he said the ACR decided to completely rethink RISE to evolve it from just a traditional Qualified Clinical Data Registry reporting tool into a clinical productivity tool. The ACR’s research highlighted several advancements, including improvements in technology, that showed the limitations of the current registry. He emphasized that CMS specialty-level quality reporting will only increase over time, and the new RISE will be a platform, tool and instrument that can help practices and providers reach their quality goals. A main aim of the registry, he said, is to help support rheumatology becoming a data-driven specialty.
The registry is open to all ACR members, and it has value for each type of rheumatologic practice. For community-based providers, Mr. Tack called RISE a “modern, intuitive, comprehensive and proactive quality improvement management resource that allows you to assess your quality improvement efforts, over time, on all rheumatology-specific and other quality measures [including experimental, draft and test measures].” He also said the new registry allows a simple and easy way to report performance measures to CMS, and underscored how simple it is to register. “Once set up, RISE is highly automated, requiring virtually no administrative or IT time or resources,” he said.
