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:

• 1.Episode Spending per Beneficiary

  Tracked against peer-adjusted national and regional benchmarks

  Influences shared savings or repayment obligations

• 2. 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

• 3.Complication & Readmission Rates

  30-day and 90-day readmissions tied to quality scoring

  Post-discharge events heavily weighted in episode reconciliation

• 4.Risk Adjustment via HCC Coding

  HCC crosswalks determine payment weights for each patient episode

  Incomplete documentation = inaccurate payment

• 5.Data Timeliness

  CMS mandates real-time or near-real-time data submission

  Late data = disqualified episodes or rejected quality scoring

• 6.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.

Dr. Thomas Layton, Director of Analytics Strategy, SolvEdge (Fictional)

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:

• 1.Faster Benchmark Feedback Loops

  Rapid insights into what’s working (and what’s not)

• 2.Stronger Negotiation Power

  Use TEAM performance data to build better referral and payer contracts

• 3.Data-Driven Clinical Governance

  Leverage real-time PROMs and readmission metrics to drive process improvement

• 4.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

CMS’s TEAM Mandate isn't just about treating patients — it’s about proving value. And proving value means feeding precise, risk-adjusted, and quality-aligned data into TEAM Connect every day.

If your organization isn’t tracking the right metrics, the right way, now is the time to act.