Who is eligible for MIPS 177?

Patients aged 18 years and older with two or more RA diagnoses documented at least 90 days apart with at least one encounter with an RA diagnosis occurring during the performance period and an additional encounter with an RA diagnosis occurring in the performance period or prior performance period. Definitions: Encounter – An encounter during the performance period where one of the CPT or HCPCS codes listed in the patient encounter criteria is used without a telehealth modifier (i.e., only non-telehealth visits are to be considered for this measure). Additional encounter –- An additional encounter during the performance period or prior performance period where one of the CPT or HCPCS codes listed in the patient encounter is used to confirm an RA diagnosis with ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes as listed in the Denominator criteria.

What codes do I submit for MIPS 177: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA): Periodic Assessment of Disease Activity?

Submission codes: M1007 (≥50% of total number of a patient’s outpatient RA encounters assessed); M1006 (Disease activity not assessed, reason not given); M1008 (<50% of total number of a patient’s outpatient RA encounters assessed)

Is MIPS 177 a topped-out measure?

Yes, MIPS 177 is currently topped out, which means most clinicians perform well on this measure and it may be subject to a 7-point scoring cap.

Measure ID: MIPS 177|Rheumatology|2026 Performance Year

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA): Periodic Assessment of Disease Activity

Percentage of patients aged 18 years and older with two or more encounters with diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) at least 90 days apart who have an assessment of disease activity using an ACR-preferred RA disease activity assessment tool at ≥50% of encounters for RA for each patient during the performance period.

ProcessRheumatology

Last updated: January 15, 2026

⚙️

Measure Specification

Denominator (Eligible Population)

Patients aged ≥ 18 years on date of encounter

ANDDiagnosis for rheumatoid arthritis (RA)

ANDPatient encounter during the performance period

WITHOUTEncounters conducted via telehealth: M1426

ANDAn additional encounter with an RA diagnosis during the performance period or prior performance period that is at least 90 days before or after an encounter with an RA diagnosis during the performance period: M1374

ORPerformance Not Met: Disease activity not assessed, reason not given (M1006)

ORPerformance Not Met: <50% of total number of a patient’s outpatient RA encounters assessed (M1008)

Denominator Exclusions

None

Numerator

Patients with disease activity assessed using an ACR-preferred rheumatoid arthritis disease activity measurement tool at ≥50% of total number of outpatient RA encounters in the performance period.

Submission Codes (QDCs)

✓ Performance Met

M1007≥50% of total number of a patient’s outpatient RA encounters assessed

✗ Performance Not Met

M1006Disease activity not assessed, reason not given

M1008<50% of total number of a patient’s outpatient RA encounters assessed

Denominator Exceptions

None — this measure has no denominator exceptions.

🧮MIPS Score Simulator

Estimate only — actual CMS scoring may vary based on reporting method, data completeness, and annual rule updates.

Your Performance Rate:%Benchmarks vary by collection type

💡 Tip: Enter your performance rate to compare MIPS points across all collection types. The same rate can score differently depending on how you submit.

VBCA Insights

💡Why This Measure Matters

Treating rheumatoid arthritis effectively means regularly assessing disease activity—not just listening to patient symptoms. This measure checks whether you're using a standardized ACR assessment tool (like DAS28 or CDAI) at half or more of your RA visits. Structured assessments guide treatment changes and catch worsening earlier than clinical impression alone. Integrating a quick disease-activity score into your EMR workflow makes this straightforward.

📖Clinical Rationale

After establishing a diagnosis of RA, risk assessment is crucial for guiding optimal treatment. For the purposes of selecting therapies, physicians should consider the patient’s disease activity at the time of the treatment decisions.

📝Clinical Recommendations

The ACR guidelines for treating both early and established RA patients strongly recommend using a treat-to-target strategy, with the ideal target as low disease activity or remission, as determined by the clinician and the patient. In order to accomplish this, a key principle of the guideline states that disease activity measurement using an ACR- recommended measure should be performed in a majority of encounters for RA patients.

(Singh, 2016)) This is based on evidence showing that regular disease activity assessment facilitates achieving low disease activity states. (Grigor, 2004) The ACR also conducted an extensive multi-year project, involving systematic literature reviews, expert consensus ratings, and national surveys to reach consensus on which RA disease activity measures are valid, reliable, and responsive, and feasible to implement in routine clinical practice, resulting in five ACR-preferred disease activity tools.

(England, 2019).

📋Implementation Notes

This measure contains one strata defined by a single submission criteria. This measure produces a single performance rate. For the purposes of MIPS implementation, this patient-process measure is submitted a minimum of once per patient for the performance period. The most advantageous quality data code will be used if the measure is submitted more than once.

Report this measure through VBCA

Our QCDR handles measure selection, data validation, and submission—so you can focus on clinical performance.

Learn About Our QCDR →

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA): Periodic Assessment of Disease Activity

Measure Specification

Denominator (Eligible Population)

Denominator Exclusions

Numerator

Submission Codes (QDCs)

Denominator Exceptions

🧮MIPS Score Simulator

💡Why This Measure Matters

📖Clinical Rationale

📝Clinical Recommendations

📋Implementation Notes

Measure Details

Specialty Sets

Related Measures

Tuberculosis Screening Prior to First Course of Biologic and/or Immune Response

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA): Functional Status Assessment

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA): Glucocorticoid Management

Official Resources

Report this measure through VBCA