Quick links:
HCAHPS Public Reporting Periods | Hospitals
Reporting No Eligible HCAHPS Discharges or "Zero Cases" | HCAHPS
XML V3.0 Edit Messages | NUBC Data Element Changes
| Tips for Avoiding Data Submission Problems | XML
File Specifications | Online Data Submission Tool
| QualityNet Exchange | Survey Vendor User
Registration in QNet Exchange | Survey Vendor Authorization
in QualityNet Exchange | Submission Reports
| HCAHPS Reports Authorization
HCAHPS Public Reporting Periods
CMS has prepared a document to show the calendar quarters of HCAHPS results that
will be publicly reported on the
Hospital Compare website through March 2009. This
document also contains information about when hospitals may suppress the public
reporting of their HCAHPS results.
Please Note: The dates of future preview periods and public reporting are estimates
based on current timetables and are thus subject to change.
Click
here to view the complete HCAHPS Public Reporting Periods document.
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Hospitals Reporting No Eligible HCAHPS Discharges or "Zero Cases" (Revised 4/17/2008)
January 2008 and Forward "Zero Cases"
The HCAHPS 3.0 Warehouse and the updated HCAHPS Online Data Entry Tool have been
released. HCAHPS survey data for eligible discharges from First Quarter 2008 and
forward (January 1, 2008 and forward) may now be submitted via XML format or the
HCAHPS Online Data Entry Tool accessed from QualityNet. The capability for organizations
to upload "Zero Case" information via QualityNet Exchange is now available with
the current release of HCAHPS.
Below please find instructions for uploading "Zero Case" information via QualityNet
Exchange using the Online Data Entry Tool or the XML file format for January 2008
patient discharges and forward.
Online Tool
Please note the following:
- One header record must
be completed for each month that an organization has "Zero Cases."
- The NPI element is not
required at this time, but may be entered if the information is available.
- For "survey mode" select "Mail only."
- For "number eligible discharge" and "sample size" enter 0.
- For "sample type" select "Simple Random Sample."
XML File Format
Below is an example of a header record layout that must be submitted for each month
that an organization has "Zero Cases."
<header>
<provider-name>Some Hospital</provider-name>
<provider-id>123456</provider-id>
(NPI is not required)
<discharge-yr>2008</discharge-yr>
<discharge-month>1</discharge-month> (for
January)
<survey-mode>1</survey-mode > (for Mail
only)
<number-eligible-discharge>0</number-eligible-discharge>
<sample-size>0</sample-size>
<sample-type>1</sample-type> (for Simple
Random Sample)
</header>
Please contact HCAHPS Information and Technical Support by email at
hcahps@azqio.sdps.org or by telephone at 1-888-884-4007 with any questions.
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HCAHPS XML V3.0 Edit Messages
Click
here to view or download a copy of the HCAHPS XML V3.0 Edit Messages document.
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NUBC Data Element Changes
The National Uniform Billing Committee (NUBC) recently implemented changes to the
Form Locator (FL 15) on the UB-04. The Form Locator name has been changed from
Admission
Source to Point of Origin for Admission or Visit. In addition, all admission
codes have been clarified or revised. The effective date of these changes is 10/1/2007.
The HCAHPS XML data file format is currently under review for revision. It is anticipated
that this revision will be published in early 2008. In the meantime, a crosswalk
for mapping these new codes to the existing HCAHPS Patient Administrative Data Record
File Specifications is provided below to assist hospitals/survey vendors with data
coding.
Click
here to view or download a copy of the HCAHPS Patient Administrative Data
Record File Specifications document.
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Tips for Avoiding Data Submission Problems
As HCAHPS results play a greater role in hospital payment, it is even more important
for hospitals and survey vendors to make sure that they submit
accurate, complete
and
timely data.
In order to assist you in this process, the HCAHPS Project Team has prepared some
tips for submitting survey data to QualityNet Exchange. Checking your survey data
for errors before you submit it will help you avoid problems in the future.
Click
here to view or
download the Tips for Avoiding Data Submission Problems V3.0 document.
Click
here to view or download
the Tips for Avoiding Data Submission Problems V2.0 document.
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XML File Specifications Version 3.0
This XML File Specifications
Version 3.0 is effective
beginning with
patient discharges in 2008.
The HCAHPS 3.0 Warehouse and the updated HCAHPS Online Data Entry Tool have been
released. HCAHPS survey data for eligible discharges from First Quarter 2008 and
forward (January 1, 2008 and forward) may now be submitted via XML format or the
HCAHPS Online Data Entry Tool accessed from QualityNet.
Note: This release does
NOT
affect submission of survey data for discharge dates for the period through December
2007. Please use the XML File Specifications Version 2.0 for this time period.
- Survey data for the quarter October-December 2007 should continue to be submitted
to the HCAHPS data warehouse until the April 9, 2008 data submission deadline date.
Optional:
The XSD (XML Schema Definition) document describes the structure of the HCAHPS XML
file. This document is NOT required to create the HCAHPS XML file; however, it can
be used as an additional tool to validate the structure of the HCAHPS XML file.
This document is provided as technical information for those who are familiar with
an XSD or are more technically oriented. It is not required for creation of the
HCAHPS XML file.
Click
here for the XML File Specifications
Version 3.0.
Click
here for the XML File Sample Layout without DSRS
Version 3.0.
Click
here for the XML File Sample Layout with DSRS
Version 3.0.
Click
here for the XML File Specifications Version 2.0.
Click
here for the XML File Sample Layout without DSRS Version 2.0.
Click
here for the XML File Sample Layout with DSRS Version 2.0.
Click
here
for the Release Notes 1.0.
Click
here
for the XSD Version 3.0.
Version 3.0.Note: Please change page setup to landscape before printing
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Online Data Submission Tool
A memo was released on June 23, 2006, announcing the availability of the HCAHPS
Online Data Entry Tool on QualityNet Exchange. A copy of the memo and information
about the online tool can be found
here.
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QualityNet Exchange
An SDPS memo was released on May 1, 2006, announcing the HCAHPS functionality on
QualityNet Exchange. Information about the process by which hospitals will authorize
their vendor to submit survey data can be found
here.
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Survey Vendor User Registration in QualityNet Exchange
Survey vendors must send their completed QualityNet (QNet) Exchange registration
forms to the QualityNet Help Desk. The QualityNet Help Desk will then verify that
the survey vendor submitting the registration forms is part of the list of approved
vendors.
If the vendor is on this list, the user(s) requesting to be the QNet Exchange Administrator
at the survey vendor will be approved and officially designated as a registered
QNet Exchange administrative user(s). Next, the QualityNet Help Desk will send an
email containing QNet Exchange log-in information to the registered QNet administrative
user(s).
The registered QNet Administrator then registers and assigns roles to non-administrative
users in their organization. This assignment of roles will allow non-administrative
users to gain access to the HCAHPS Data Upload feature and the Submission Reports.
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Survey Vendor Authorization in QualityNet Exchange
Hospitals are now able to authorize vendors to submit data on their behalf via QNet
Exchange.
Hospitals should perform the following steps to authorize their survey vendor to
submit their HCAHPS data:
- The hospital QNet Administrator assigns the HCAHPS Vendor Authorization role to
other hospital administrators and/or non-administrators who require this role.*
- A hospital user with the HCAHPS Vendor Authorization role accesses the HCAHPS vendor
authorization feature in QNet Exchange.
- The hospital user selects their survey vendor.
Once these steps have been completed, authorized survey vendors will be able to
upload HCAHPS data on behalf of their contracted hospitals and view the data reports
of all hospitals that have delegated the upload capability to them.
Vendors will be able to verify authorization via the "Hospitals Authorizing Vendor
to Upload Data" report. If a provider has not granted authorization as expected,
the vendor should contact the provider to have this authorization granted. The hospital
will need to authorize data submission by a vendor using the QNet HCAHPS Vendor
Authorization function (described above).
*Organizations are encouraged to designate two QNet Security Administrators: one
to serve as the primary Security Administrator, and the other to serve as the backup.
Additional information on registration is available on the public pages of QNet
Exchange,
http://www.QualityNet.org, under
"Getting Started." If you have questions regarding QNet registration, please contact
the QualityNet Help Desk at
qnetsupport@ifmc.sdps.org,
or at
(866) 288-8912,
(7am to 7pm Central Time, Monday through Friday).
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Submission Reports
This information is intended to assist hospitals and survey vendors who submit survey
data to the HCAHPS data warehouse through QualityNet Exchange, about the most effective
way to run and view HCAHPS data submission reports.
The following information pertains to the two HCAHPS Submission Reports:
- HCAHPS Warehouse Data Submission Summary Report
- HCAHPS Warehouse Data Submission Detail Report
To obtain a comprehensive set of submission results, we strongly recommend that
these reports be run by selecting only the "Upload Start & End Date" parameter
(and if needed, Batch ID parameter to limit the results to the Batch IDs selected)
to get a comprehensive set of submission results.
The "Discharge Start & End Date" and "Provider" parameters (applies to survey
vendors) filter the results to a subset of the submission results. If the "Discharge
Start & End Date" parameter and/or the "Provider" parameter (applies to survey
vendors) are selected, any files that were submitted but then received parsing errors
will be omitted from the submission report. Therefore, it is recommended that hospitals
run the reports with the "Upload Start and End Date" parameters only. Doing so will
ensure that all files submitted are accounted for on the submission reports, whether
the files were accepted, rejected, or could not be parsed.
After obtaining the comprehensive set of submission results by following the directions
above, users may find it helpful to run additional reports using varying combinations
of parameters to filter the results to a smaller subset, depending on the need identified
by the user, such as using the Batch ID parameter to limit the results to the Batch
IDs selected.
For additional assistance or inquiries regarding the HCAHPS submission reports,
please feel free to contact the QualityNet Help Desk at
qnetsupport@ifmc.sdps.org or (866) 288-8912, (7am to 7pm Central Time, Monday
through Friday).
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HCAHPS Reports Authorization
The following HCAHPS Feedback Reports are being made available to healthcare systems
and survey vendors, if approved by the hospital:
- Provider Survey Status Summary
- Data Submission Detail
If a healthcare system or survey vendor would like to request access to the hospital's
HCAHPS Feedback Reports, the request for access must be made by the health care
system or the survey vendor via QualityNet using the "Request Access" feature located
in the Reports section of the My Tasks area. The HCAHPS Report Auth Request role
is required to access this Report Authorization Request feature.
The hospital is then notified by e-mail that this request has been made and can
approve or deny the request by using the "Approve Access Requests" feature on QualityNet.
The healthcare system or survey vendor will then be notified by e-mail that the
hospital has responded (Approved or Denied) to their request for access to the hospital's
HCAHPS Feedback Reports. The health care system or the survey vendor needs to then
sign in to My QualityNet and access the "View Access" feature to view the outcome
of the request. If the hospital has approved the request, the health care system
or the survey vendor should now have access to the hospital's HCAHPS Feedback Reports.
Once authorization is received from the hospital, QualityNet Security Administrators
at the healthcare system or survey vendor organization will need to assign the "HCAHPS
Feedback Reports role" to appropriate users at their organization to provide access
to the HCAHPS Feedback Reports.
Refer to the QualityNet Reports User's Guide that is available on the secure pages
of QualityNet under the Help link for a description and details of each report.
The Report Authorization recorded training is also available. The recorded training,
which demonstrates how survey vendors and health care systems are able to request
access from associated providers to their HCAHPS reports and how providers are able
to view these requests and respond to them, can be accessed on QualityNet by selecting
'Training'. It is located in the 'For hospital, health care systems, hospital data
vendors' section and is titled 'Report Authorization for HCAHPS and HOP QDRP'.
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