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Announcement

Updated ICH CAHPS Survey Materials for the 2025 Spring Survey
folder_openChanges to Survey Materialscalendar_todayPosted December 13, 2024

The ICH CAHPS Coordination Team is currently in the process of updating the ICH CAHPS Survey Administration and Specifications Manual, Version 13.0 and survey materials, and would like to give early notification of the following survey materials that will be revised for implementation during the 2025 Spring Survey period.

New Official Survey Language:

  • In early December 2024, vendors were given early notification that starting with the 2025 Spring Survey, the ICH CAHPS Survey and related materials will now be available in Vietnamese. Vendors were asked to reach out to the Coordination Team if they plan to offer this language starting with the 2025 Spring Survey; if so, personalized translated materials will be provided. Please see this announcement for more information: ICH CAHPS: Vietnamese to be offered as an Official Survey Language Starting with the 2025 Spring Survey

ICH CAHPS Mail Survey:

  • English, Spanish, Samoan, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, and Vietnamese: Addition of respondent instruction text in Question 57 (Please mark only one response.) to prevent missing data.
  • English: Minor text edit made to response option 4 in Question 20 and response option 3 in Question 37.

ICH CAHPS Telephone Script:

  • English and Spanish: Added an onscreen telephone interviewer note to be read if a respondent asks why they are being asked to share their race. This note has been added to screens for Question 59, Question 59a, and Question 59b.
  • English: Changed response option 4 of Question 58a to now read as “Other Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino?”

XML Data Layout File:

  • The ICH CAHPS Survey XML data layout file is being revised for the 2025 Spring Survey to include the addition of Vietnamese for the Survey Language (completed) data variable in the Patient Administrative data record.
    • By May 2025, the ICH CAHPS Survey data submission tools (Schema Validation Tool and Data Submission Tool) will be updated to reflect the addition of this new survey language. Announcements will be posted on the website when the revised tools are available.

Model Quality Assurance Plan (QAP):

  • Updates were made to:
    • reflect the survey materials and information vendors should include in their QAP for survey modes they are administering versus survey modes they are approved for; and
    • request details on oversight activities that vendors implement when managing subcontractors.

Waiting Room FAQs:

  • English, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese: Revised reference to provider type “Dialysis facilities” to match updated language on Care Compare website.
  • English, Spanish, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese: Revised reference of number of offered languages from “5” to “6” to account for the Vietnamese
  • Vietnamese: Created a Waiting Room FAQs document.

Minimum Business Requirements (MBR):

  • Numerous updates were made to ensure that all ICH CAHPS Survey vendor applicants and currently approved vendors better understand the business requirements that survey vendors must meet to both obtain and retain CMS approval. Vendors must continue to meet these MBRs after an initial application is submitted/approved by CMS. Once posted, vendors are encouraged to review the revised MBRs carefully and contact the Coordination Team with any questions.

The Coordination Team will provide the revised materials to approved survey vendors via email within the next few weeks, so that they can begin updating their systems/processes to include these new changes and requirements. All survey vendors must update their survey materials before the 2025 Spring Survey begins in April 2025. At this time, these are the only survey materials revisions expected; however, survey vendors will be notified should other changes be required.

The revised mail surveys, telephone scripts, MBRs, Model QAP, and XML file will also be made available on the ICH CAHPS website in early February 2025. All updated survey materials will be discussed during the ICH CAHPS Vendor Update Training session on Wednesday, February 12, 2025.

Please contact the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team via email at ichcahps@rti.org if you have any questions.