Updated ICH CAHPS Survey Materials for the 2024 Spring Survey
folder_openChanges to Survey Materialscalendar_todayPosted December 15, 2023
The ICH CAHPS Coordination Team is currently in the process of updating the ICH CAHPS Survey Administration and Specifications Manual, Version 12.0 and survey materials, and would like to give early notification of the following survey materials that will be revised for implementation during the 2024 Spring Survey period.
Revisions to the ICH CAHPS mail survey (in all approved languages) and telephone script (in English and Spanish):
The following changes will be made to the ICH CAHPS mail surveys and telephone survey scripts:
- The race questions (Q59 in the mail survey; Q59 and Q59b in the telephone script) have been revised so that response options are now listed in alphabetical order for health equity reasons.
- The English version of the revised race question, for both mail and telephone, can be found below. In the next few weeks, we will send the revised surveys and telephone scripts to vendors, in the languages needed.
- Additional minor edits were made to the names of some existing race categories in the Spanish mail survey and telephone script. These will be included in the Spanish mail survey and telephone script that will be sent to vendors in the next few weeks.
- The revised race question, for both mail and telephone, were tested during the 2022 ICH CAHPS Mode Experiment.
ICH CAHPS mail survey:
- Q59 – Current Version (English):
- Q59 – Revised for 2024 Spring (English):
Please note that in all approved languages, the following race variables were added to Q59: “Asian” and “Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander”.
ICH CAHPS telephone script:
- Q59 – Current Version (English):
- Q59 – Revised for 2024 Spring (English):
- Q59b – Current Version (English):
- Q59b – Revised for 2024 Spring (English):
Please note that the race response options in Q59a in the telephone script are already in alphabetical order, so a revision was not needed to this question.
XML Data Layout File:
- The ICH CAHPS Survey XML data layout file is being revised to reflect the edits made to Q59 in the mail surveys, and Q59 and Q59b in the telephone scripts for 2024 Spring. These XML file edits include:
- Reordering of the race response options for XML element Q59-mail, Q59-phone, and Q59b-phone to match the new order of the response categories for these survey questions (i.e., alphabetical order).
- The addition of the following race variables: Q59-mail race-asian-mail (i.e. “Asian”) and Q59-mail race-nativehawaiian-pacific-mail (i.e. “Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander”).
- By May 2024, the ICH CAHPS Survey data submission tools (Schema Validation Tool and Data Submission Tool) will be updated to reflect the edits made to Q59 and Q59b. Announcements will be posted on the website when the revised tools are available.
Minimum Business Requirements (MBR):
- Updated to reflect that CMS may permit home-based or virtual interviewers or mail survey staff to administer the ICH CAHPS survey. An Exceptions Request Form (ERF) must be submitted and approved by CMS prior to administering the survey using virtual staff.
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 2024 Spring Survey begins in April 2024. 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, MBR, and XML file will also be made available on the ICH CAHPS website in early February 2024. All updated survey materials will be discussed during the ICH CAHPS Vendor Update Webinar Training session on Wednesday, February 7, 2024.
Please contact the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team via email at ichcahps@rti.org if you have any questions.