TEAM Connect Platform Performance: Metrics, Outcomes, and Opportunities
- SolvEdge
- June 03, 2025
- 6 mins read
CMS’s TEAM Connect platform isn’t just a reporting mechanism — it’s the nervous system of the TEAM Mandate. Every performance measure, cost episode, and patient-reported outcome runs through this digital infrastructure.
If your hospital can’t feed accurate, timely, and structured data into TEAM Connect, you risk:
- Underperformance in cost benchmarks
- Low quality scores and STAR ratings
- Missed reimbursement opportunities
- CMS audits and public reporting setbacks
This blog decodes how TEAM Connect works, the metrics it prioritizes, and how hospitals can use it to drive clinical and financial performance.
What Is TEAM Connect?
TEAM Connect is CMS’s digital infrastructure designed to collect, process, and assess performance data across bundled episodes of care. It facilitates:
- Real-time transmission of claims and clinical data
- PROMs integration
- Episode-level cost and quality reporting
- Risk adjustment inputs via HCC coding and social drivers
- Benchmarked performance analytics across providers and health systems
TEAM Connect acts as the official gateway for TEAM Mandate compliance and payment reconciliation.
Essential Metrics Tracked by TEAM Connect
To comply with CMS requirements and maximize reimbursements, hospitals must ensure these six core metrics are reported accurately:
Episode Spending per Beneficiary
Tracked against peer-adjusted national and regional benchmarks
Influences shared savings or repayment obligations
Patient-Reported Outcomes (PROMs)
Must be digitally submitted within defined pre- and post-op windows
Non-submission may result in zero scoring on quality composites
Complication & Readmission Rates
30-day and 90-day readmissions tied to quality scoring
Post-discharge events heavily weighted in episode reconciliation
Risk Adjustment via HCC Coding
HCC crosswalks determine payment weights for each patient episode
Incomplete documentation = inaccurate payment
Data Timeliness
CMS mandates real-time or near-real-time data submission
Late data = disqualified episodes or rejected quality scoring
Episode Attribution Accuracy
TEAM Connect matches providers to outcomes
Errors in attribution = skewed benchmarks and misaligned reimbursements
Hospitals that treat TEAM Connect like a passive data feed will fail. This platform is CMS’s control tower — and hospitals need to feed it with clean, complete, and context-rich data if they want to fly above the curve in episode-based care.
Common Challenges Hospitals Face with TEAM Connect
Even sophisticated health systems run into obstacles. Here are the top performance blockers:
Disconnected Systems: PROMs, EMRs, and billing systems don’t share data fluidly
Manual HCC Coding: Delays and omissions in diagnosis documentation
Inconsistent Episode Definitions: Misalignment between clinical care paths and TEAM episodes
Poor Attribution Logic: CMS benchmarks penalize providers due to faulty matching
Lack of Audit Trail: No transparency into data transmission success/failure
Strategic Opportunities with TEAM Connect
Hospitals that proactively optimize TEAM Connect workflows gain:
Faster Benchmark Feedback Loops
Rapid insights into what’s working (and what’s not)
Stronger Negotiation Power
Use TEAM performance data to build better referral and payer contracts
Data-Driven Clinical Governance
Leverage real-time PROMs and readmission metrics to drive process improvement
Compliance Risk Reduction
Fewer surprises during CMS audits or reconciliation periods
SolvEdge Insight: How We Help Hospitals Win on TEAM Connect
SolvEdge’s compliance and analytics suite includes:
TEAM Connect API integration tools
Real-time dashboarding for episode performance
PROMs digital capture and transmission workflows
HCC risk scoring automation with NLP and crosswalk validation
Attribution verification with AI-assisted episode tracking
SolvEdge transforms TEAM Connect from a compliance burden into a performance advantage.
Conclusion: Your Data Is Your Future Under TEAM
If your organization isn’t tracking the right metrics, the right way, now is the time to act.
SolvEdge transforms TEAM Connect from a compliance burden into a performance advantage.
Get your TEAM Connect performance scorecard.
Schedule a free readiness audit with SolvEdge and discover how well your systems are aligned for TEAM success.
