NOW AVAILABLE:
Fall Hospital Compare Public Report (9/18/2008). The Hospital Compare website has been refreshed with Fall Public Report scores (www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov).
Please note that the Hospital Compare website has also undergone a slight change in its appearance and navigation elements. The new layout and navigation should make it easier to find the information you are seeking.
Please contact NRC Picker’s HCAHPS Compliance Team (HCAHPSCompliance@NRCPicker.com) if you have questions about this update.
HCAHPS Fall Report Released
The HCAHPS fall public report has been released and the Hospital Compare website has been refreshed with the scores. The Hospital Compare website has also undergone appearance and navigation changes, the updated website can be accessed by clicking here.
HCAHPS Release Date Announced
The HCAHPS Summer Public Report data release date is Wednesday, August 20, 2008.
HCAHPS Fall Preview
The HCAHPS fall preview period will be from July 16th to August 14th, 2008. Preview reports are available to authorized hospital representatives on QualityNet. Hospitals that choose to suppress their data from the Fall 2008 report must complete the HQA Request for Withholding Data from Public Reporting form and submit it to their QIO hospital reporting contact no later than close of business on August 14, 2008. This form can be obtained from the QualityNet website.
QualityNet Experiencing Technical Difficulties
QualityNet, the organization that receives transmissions of HCAHPS data as well as data for other government reporting measures, is experiencing technical difficulties with their site. They are working on this issue and expect to have the site available as soon as possible.
HCAHPS data submissions to QualityNet will resume immediately upon the availability of the site and NRC Picker clients will be notified when their Quarter 1, 2008 data have been successfully transmitted and accepted by QualityNet.
HCAHPS Public Reporting Schedule Released
CMS released an enhanced HCAHPS Public Report Schedule. Click the link below to view a table summarizing the information CMS' three-page document. This table indicates the quarters being reported in each public report, which hospitals will have the option to suppress during that public release, and the projected period when preview reports will be available before the public release.
See HCAHPS chart.
For the full report, click here.
Summer Preview Period for HCAHPS Data
Monday, April 14, 2008 marked the beginning of the Summer 2008 Preview Period for your HCAHPS data.
Learn more.
HCAHPS Data Released on Hospital Compare
The much anticipated release of the HCAHPS patient experience data occurred March 28th, 2008. Data from 2,521 hospitals is now available on the Hospital Compare website.
Learn more.
Quarter 4, 2007 Data Submission Complete
The April 9, 2008 data submission deadline for the fifth quarter (October, November and December 2007 patient discharges) of the HCAHPS Data Collection and Public Reporting has passed. NRC completed submission for the period and will soon begin work on January data for the submission of January - March 2008 data. July 9, 2008 is the data submission deadline for patients discharged in January, February and March 2008.
Quality Assurance Plan Update
The HCAHPS Quality Assurance Guidelines Version 3.0 were released at the start of the year. This manual has been revised from Version 2.0 and includes additional updates and enhancements that provide a comprehensive resource for hospitals and survey vendors participating in the HCAHPS initiative. The Quality Assurance Plan Hospitals self-administering the HCAHPS Survey, hospitals administering the survey for multiple sites, and approved Survey Vendors must develop a Quality Assurance Plan (QAP). The submission of the QAP is an NRC requirement, and clients need not submit a QAP on their own. NRC continually updates our QAP and submits one QAP for all clients to CMS as needed and when required by CMS deadlines.
HCAHPS Online Releases Executive Insight Page
CMS has released a new site through their HCAHPS online location.
Learn more
Public Reporting Suppression Information for HCAHPS
All hospitals participating in the HCAHPS initiative (both IPPS and CAH) will have the option of suppressing public reporting of their HCAHPS results in March 2008. Suppression of public reporting will not affect the FY2008 Annual Payment Update (APU) of IPPS hospitals; CAH hospitals are not paid under the IPPS system. IPPS hospitals are allowed to suppress their HCAHPS results because the March 2008 public reporting will include data that were voluntarily collected, not under the Fiscal Year 2008 APU requirements.
Updated DRG Table and Service Line Categories
An updated version of the MS V.25 MS-DRG codes and Service Line Categories document has been posted. This updated version does not change the Service Line Category/DRG content of the table. The link to the CMS website has been added to the document and some minor text/formatting changes have been made to the "Please Note" section under the table.
HCAHPS Project Team Visit, September 2007
NRC Picker hosted two representatives of the HCAHPS project team on September 19 & 20, 2007. One representative was from the Health Services Advisory Group (HSAG) and the other from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). Both of these organizations are involved in the management and oversight of the HCAHPS program. Their on-site visit is part of the HCAHPS initiative which allows review of our protocols with members of the HCAHPS team.