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Announcement

Reminder: Deadline for Authorizing a Survey Vendor for the 2021 ICH CAHPS Fall Survey is August 31, 2021
folder_openFacility Participation Requirementscalendar_todayPosted August 30, 2021

This is a reminder that all in-center hemodialysis (ICH) facilities that are administering the ICH CAHPS Survey for the first time or are switching to a different ICH CAHPS Survey vendor to administer the 2021 ICH CAHPS Fall Survey must update their vendor authorization on the ICH CAHPS website by 5:00 PM Eastern Time on August 31, 2021. Please note you must update the online vendor authorization only if the following applies.

  • Your facility is participating in the ICH CAHPS Survey for the first time during the 2021 Fall Survey; OR
  • Your facility is switching to a different survey vendor to administer the 2021 ICH CAHPS Fall Survey; OR
  • Your facility entered the 2021 Spring Survey as the last survey period for which the vendor would administer the survey when you originally submitted the vendor authorization form.

If your organization will continue to use the same ICH CAHPS Survey vendor that was used to administer the 2021 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey, you do not need to update the online vendor authorization form.

If any of the above statements apply to your facility, you must update the online vendor authorization form for the 2021 ICH CAHPS Fall Survey on the ICH CAHPS website by the August 31, 2021 deadline. Please note that you must have a formal written contract with an approved ICH CAHPS Survey vendor before authorizing that vendor on the website

ICH facilities that served 30 or more survey-eligible patients in calendar year 2020 must administer both the 2021 ICH CAHPS Spring and Fall Surveys to be compliant with the CMS quality reporting requirements. If the online vendor authorization form is not updated by the deadline, a sample will not be provided to a survey vendor, which means the 2021 Fall Survey cannot be administered.

The steps for authorizing a vendor on the ICH CAHPS website are as follows:

  • Log in to the ICH CAHPS website here.
  • From your personal dashboard, click “Authorize a Vendor.” The system will then take you to the Authorize a Vendor page.
  • From the “Select Action” drop-down list on the Authorize a Vendor page:
    • If authorizing a vendor for the first time on the website: Select the “Select a vendor for the first time” option.
    • If changing/switching to a different vendor: Select the “Switch to a different vendor” option.
  • Select the name of your survey vendor from the vendor drop-down list.
  • Select the Beginning Survey Period for your new vendor. In this instance, you would select "2021 Fall Survey."
  • Do not enter an end date for your survey vendor unless you know that you will not be using this vendor for the 2022 Spring Survey.
  • Select the CCN(s) of the ICH facility (or facilities) to which the authorization applies.
  • Click the “Submit” button.

Please note:  No changes to vendor authorizations will be accepted for the 2021 Fall Survey after 5:00 PM Eastern Time on August 31, 2021.

Please contact the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team at 1–866–245–8083 or via email at ichcahps@rti.org if you have any questions or need more information about the 2021 ICH CAHPS Surveys.