RTI International will be closed on Monday, May 27, 2019 for the Memorial Day holiday. The ICH CAHPS Coordination Team will respond to email and telephone technical assistance inquiries that are received on that date as soon as possible after RTI re-opens on Tuesday, May 28, 2019.

Please contact the Coordination Team via e-mail at ichcahps@rti.org or call 1-866-245-8083 if you have any questions.

ICH CAHPS Survey results based on combined data from the 2017 ICH CAHPS Fall Survey and the 2018 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey were posted on Dialysis Facility Compare on the www.medicare.gov website in May 2019. Click here to see the state and national averages for the three ICH CAHPS composite measures and the three global ratings based on the combined data from those two survey periods. The average response rate for each state and the overall response rate are also provided in this document.

Please contact the ICH CAHPS Survey Coordination Team at 1–866–245–8083 or via e-mail at ichcahps@rti.org if you have any questions about the ICH CAHPS Average State and National Scores.

The ICH CAHPS Survey results that are currently posted on Dialysis Facility Compare (DFC) on the medicare.gov website are based on ICH CAHPS Survey data from the 2017 ICH CAHPS Fall and 2018 Spring Surveys. The results shown are statistically adjusted for both data collection mode and for patient mix. Information about the adjustments made to the survey results and the coefficients used to adjust the results can be found here. Information presented in this document will allow ICH facilities to approximate the effect of patient mix adjustment on their ICH CAHPS Survey results that were posted on DFC in May 2019. In addition, this document (as well as all future iterations) now includes Appendix A: Additional Information on the Clustering Method Used to Create ICH CAHPS Star Ratings.

Please contact the ICH CAHPS Survey Coordination Team at 1–866–245–8083 or via e-mail at ichcahps@rti.org...

This is a friendly reminder that the deadline for ICH CAHPS Survey vendors to submit the annual Quality Assurance Plan (QAP) is 11:59 PM Eastern Time on March 31, 2019.

The QAP must describe how the survey vendor will implement, comply with, and provide oversight of all survey and data processing activities associated with the ICH CAHPS Survey. To ensure prompt review and acceptance of your Update QAP, please follow the procedures listed below:

Locate the version of your most recently approved QAP; that is, the version that was accepted by CMS and the Coordination Team in 2018. Make a copy of that version and accept all tracked changes, creating a clean copy of your QAP. Make all 2019 updates to your clean copy using track changes, so that your document reflects only the changes made since your most recent approved QAP. Make sure to include updates to your QAP if your organization has had changes in ICH CAHPS Survey personnel, changes to protocols or procedures, and/or changes...

This is a friendly reminder that the deadline for ICH CAHPS Survey vendors to submit the annual Quality Assurance Plan (QAP) is 11:59 PM Eastern Time on March 31, 2019.

The QAP must describe how the survey vendor will implement, comply with, and provide oversight of all survey and data processing activities associated with the ICH CAHPS Survey. To ensure prompt review and acceptance of your Annual QAP, please follow the procedures listed below:

Locate the version of your most recently approved QAP; that is, the version that was accepted by CMS and the Coordination Team in 2018. Make a copy of that version and accept all tracked changes, creating a clean copy of your QAP. Make all 2019 updates to your clean copy using track changes, so that your document reflects only the changes made since your most recently approved QAP. Make sure to include updates to your QAP if your organization has had changes in ICH CAHPS Survey personnel, changes to protocols or procedures, and/or changes...

This is a reminder that all in-center hemodialysis (ICH) facilities that are switching to a different ICH CAHPS Survey vendor to administer the 2019 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey must change their vendor authorization on the ICH CAHPS website by 5:00 PM Eastern Time TOMORROW, February 28, 2019.

Please note that ICH facilities 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 2019 Spring Survey; OR Your facility is switching to a different survey vendor to administer the 2019 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey; OR Your facility entered the 2018 Fall Survey as the last survey period for which the vendor would administer the survey when you originally submitted the authorization form. If your organization will continue to use the same ICH CAHPS Survey vendor that was used to administer the 2018 ICH CAHPS Fall Survey, you do not need to update the online vendor authorization form.

If...

Questions asked by participants during and after the February 14, 2019 ICH CAHPS Survey Vendor Update Webinar Training session and the answers provided are provided below.

Please note that there were no questions asked by participants during the February 13, 2019 Introduction to the ICH CAHPS Survey Webinar Training Session.

Vendor Update Training Session Topic: Survey Schedule:

Q: Do you require Quality Assurance Plan (QAP) submission of survey materials in English only?

A: Survey materials should be submitted as an appendix to your QAP for all languages that your organization is approved for.

Vendor Update Training Session Topic: Survey Administration:

Q: With the disposition rule described in slide 67 (Vendor Update Training Slide 67: If the nursing home staff member indicates they are not permitted to transfer the telephone interviewer to the sample patient’s room, and the telephone interviewer is unable to obtain a new phone number for the sample patient, then a...

This is a reminder to all in-center hemodialysis (ICH) facilities that the deadline for changing your vendor authorization on the ICH CAHPS Web site is 5:00 PM Eastern Time on February 28, 2019. 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 2019 Spring Survey; OR Your facility is switching to a different survey vendor to administer the 2019 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey; OR Your facility entered the 2018 Fall Survey as the last survey period for which the vendor would administer the survey when you originally submitted the authorization form. If your organization will continue to use the same ICH CAHPS Survey vendor that was used to administer the 2018 ICH CAHPS Fall 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 2019...

Please note that the deadline for submitting the 2019 ICH CAHPS Survey Facility Non-Participation Form is 5:00 PM Eastern on February 28, 2019. To access this form, login to the website using your user credentials and choose “Facility Non-Participation Form” under the For Facilities menu.

As noted in an e-mail message sent to in-center hemodialysis (ICH) facilities on January 3, 2019 and posted under the Quick Links menu on the ICH CAHPS Website’s home page, all in-center hemodialysis (ICH) facilities must determine whether they will be required to administer the ICH CAHPS Survey in calendar year (CY) 2019 by counting the number of survey-eligible patients they served in CY2018.

ICH facilities that determine that they are not required to administer the 2019 ICH CAHPS Survey and those that choose not to administer the survey must complete and submit the 2019 ICH CAHPS Facility Non-Participation Form to the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team.

ICH facilities should note that the Facility Non-Participation...

The training materials that will be used during the Introduction to the In-Center Hemodialysis CAHPS (ICH CAHPS) Survey Webinar Training Session that will be held from 11:00 to 4:00 PM Eastern Time (ET) on February 13, 2019, and during the ICH CAHPS Survey Vendor Update Webinar Training Session that will be held from 1:30 to 4:00 PM Eastern Time (ET) on February 14, 2019, are available on the ICH CAHPS website at the following link.

Training Materials for the 2019 ICH CAHPS Webinar Training Sessions

Please note that all CMS-approved ICH CAHPS Survey vendors and any subcontractors that will have a significant role on the ICH CAHPS Survey must register for and attend the Vendor Update training session.

An e-mail message containing instructions for connecting to the training sessions via webinar and telephone will be sent to all registered organizations within the next few days. Please contact the ICH CAHPS...