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IMMEDIATE ATTENTION: July 8, 2009 HCAHPS Data Submission Deadline (06/30/2009)

July 8, 2009 is the data submission deadline for patients discharged in January, February and March 2009. March 2009 Dry Run data also must be submitted by this date.

Please Note: Make sure to allow adequate time to submit data in case resubmissions are necessary. A successful submission to My QualityNet is defined as a file that has been accepted by My QualityNet, as indicated on the Data Submission Report.

After you have uploaded your files, you should receive an email confirmation within twenty-four hours with a batch number indicating that your batch has been processed. If you do not receive this email, please contact the QualityNet Help Desk at qnetsupport@sdps.org, or by telephone at 866.288.8912.

In addition, be sure to check the HCAHPS Submission Reports if your hospital uploaded data, or the HCAHPS Feedback Reports if your hospital has contracted with an approved survey vendor for HCAHPS data submission. These reports are available on the My QualityNet Web site.

HCAHPS 3.1- Submission of Zero Cases and 5 or Fewer Cases (06/25/2009)

The HCAHPS 3.1 file specifications include a new field "Determination of Service Line" to be completed in the Survey Month Data (Header Record) section for HCAHPS data submission. This file format change is effective with submission of April 2009 and forward patient discharges. The updated file specifications are located on the Technical Specifications page. (Please click here).

Hospital Compare June 2009 Release Delayed (06/17/2009)

The June release of Hospital Compare has been delayed from the original target date of June 18, 2009. An alternate date for the release is not known at this time. You will be notified when the date for the release has been determined.

HCAHPS Bulletin 2009-01 Revised Posted (05/15/2009)

CMS has released the clarification to the HCAHPS Bulletin 2009-01. During the February 2009 HCAHPS Training sessions, several questions were asked about the appropriate protocol for administering the HCAHPS survey in conjunction with other hospital inpatient surveys. In response, after training, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the HCAHPS Project Team (HPT) issued HCAHPS Bulletin 2009-01 to clarify this matter. Since the Bulletin's release in February, other issues and circumstances have been raised concerning what hospitals, and others acting on their behalf, should do when their regular patient care or other patient survey activities seem to conflict with HCAHPS protocols.

Please click here to view or download a copy of the HCAHPS Bulletin 2009-01 Revised - The Use of HCAHPS in Conjunction with Other Hospital Inpatient Surveys.

HCAHPS Data Submission Deadlines 2010 (04/30/2009)

The remaining 2009 deadlines for HCAHPS data submission are as follows:

  • July 8, 2009 is the data submission deadline for patients discharged in January, February and March 2009. March 2009 Dry Run data also must be submitted by this date.
  • October 14, 2009 is the data submission deadline for patients discharged in April, May and June 2009. June 2009 Dry Run data also must be submitted by this date.

The HCAHPS data submission deadlines for 2010 are as follows:

  • January 13, 2010 is the data submission deadline for patients discharged in July, August and September 2009. September 2009 Dry Run data also must be submitted by this date.
  • April 14, 2010 is the data submission deadline for patients discharged in October, November and December 2009. December 2009 Dry Run data also must be submitted by this date.
  • July 14, 2010 is the data submission deadline for patients discharged in January, February and March 2010. March 2010 Dry Run data also must be submitted by this date.
  • October 13, 2010 is the data submission deadline for patients discharged in April, May and June 2010. June 2010 Dry Run data also must be submitted by this date.

All data submission must be successfully submitted by these dates.

Please Note: Make sure to allow adequate time to submit data in case resubmissions are necessary. A successful submission to My QualityNet is defined as a file that has been accepted by My QualityNet, as indicated on the Data Submission Report.

After you have uploaded your files, you should receive an email confirmation within twenty-four hours with a batch number indicating that your batch has been processed. If you do not receive this email, please contact the QualityNet Help Desk at qnetsupport@sdps.org, or by telephone at 866.288.8912.

In addition, be sure to check the Submission Reports if your hospital uploaded data, or the Feedback Reports if your hospital has contracted with an approved survey vendor for HCAHPS data submission. These reports are available on the My QualityNet Web site.

HCAHPS 3.1 Release Notes and Known Issues Document (04/30/2009)

The HCAHPS 3.1 release notes and known issues document are posted on the Technical Specifications page.

HCAHPS 3.1 File Specifications Released on April 23, 2009 (04/23/2009)

The HCAHPS 3.1 Warehouse and the updated HCAHPS Online Data Entry Tool have been released. HCAHPS survey data for eligible discharges from April 1, 2009 and forward may now be submitted via XML format or the HCAHPS Online Data Entry Tool accessed from My QualityNet.

Click here for more information.

June 2009 Public Report HCAHPS Footnote Update (04/10/2009)

The footnotes applied to the public reporting of HCAHPS scores on the Hospital Compare Website have been updated. CMS has added a new footnote beginning with June 2009 Public Report. The new Footnote 11 will read as follows:

    June 2009 Public Reporting – Footnote 11: There were discrepancies in the data collection process.

    Footnote 11 is applied when there have been deviations from HCAHPS data collection protocols. CMS is working with survey vendors and/or hospitals to correct any discrepancies.

Please note that with the addition of Footnote 11, Footnote 7 has been revised to read as follows:

    June 2009 Public Reporting - Footnote 7: Survey Results are based on less than 12 months of data.

    Footnote 7 is applied when HCAHPS results are based on less than 12 months of survey data.

Patient-mix Coefficients for the June 2009 HCAHPS Results have been Posted (04/10/2009)

The Patient-mix Coefficients for the June 2009 HCAHPS results are now available. Please click here.

Note:  Some of the files on this page are available only in Adobe Acrobat - Portable Document Format (PDF).
To view PDF files, you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader (minimum version 4, version 5 suggested).
If you do not already have the Acrobat Reader installed, please go to Adobe's Acrobat download page now.