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Process to Suppress OAS CAHPS Survey Data from Public Reporting for October 2024 Refresh
Public ReportingPosted April 15, 2024

During voluntary implementation, CMS will allow participating hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs) and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) to have their data suppressed, that is, not displayed on data.CMS.gov/provider-data.

OAS CAHPS Survey data are scheduled refresh in October 2024, which includes data from Quarter 1, 2023 - Quarter 4, 2023.

For the October 2024 refresh, vendors must notify the OAS CAHPS Survey Coordination Team (via email at oascahps@rti.org) by May 15, 2024, of any CCNs that choose to exclude their data from public reporting. Please note that the deadline for suppression is earlier than the date by which the Preview Reports are posted on oascahps.org.

The e-mail message to the Coordination Team for suppression requests should include the HOPD's or ASC's name and CMS Certification Number (CCN).

Future plans for Public Reporting: Participation requirements and public reporting for OAS CAHPS will change for HOPDs for data collected for CY 2024 and for ASCs for data collected for CY 2025.

As noted in the Final Rule for CY 2024, to receive the annual payment update (APU) for calendar year (CY) 2026, all Medicare-certified hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs) that are not eligible for an exemption from participation in the OAS CAHPS Survey must participate in the OAS CAHPS Survey on a continuous monthly basis from January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024. ASCs will follow a similar schedule in 2025.
Because participation is no longer voluntary for HOPDs, HOPDs can no longer choose to have their data suppressed from public reporting on data.CMS.gov/provider-data once the data from 4 quarters of 2024 are publicly reported.

Please contact the OAS CAHPS Survey Coordination Team via e-mail at oascahps@rti.org or call toll-free (866) 590-7468, if you have any questions.

OAS CAHPS Preview Reports Available for Quarter 4, 2022 through Quarter 3, 2023
Public ReportingPosted April 9, 2024

The purpose of this announcement is to alert hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs) and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) that Preview Reports reflecting results from the Outpatient and Ambulatory Surgery CAHPS (OAS CAHPS) Survey for October 2022 through September 2023 (Q4, 2022 - Q3, 2023) are now available on the OAS CAHPS website.

The following are some frequently asked questions and answers about the Preview Reports. More information about the OAS CAHPS Survey Preview Reports can be found in the "Understanding the Preview Reports" link under the For Facilities menu tab on the OAS CAHPS website.

Who has access to a facility's Preview Report?
HOPDs and ASCs participating in the OAS CAHPS Survey have access to their own reports. The Preview Report is not available to OAS CAHPS Survey vendors or to anyone other than the facility staff registered through the https://oascahps.org website. If facility staff want to share the Preview Report with their OAS CAHPS Survey vendor or with anyone else, they can export the results to a Microsoft Excel File and distribute it.

How does a facility user access its Preview Report?
The Preview Reports are posted on the secured (private) link on https://oascahps.org/. To access a facility's report, an authorized user must first log into the OAS CAHPS website with their registered username and password. Then, select the "Survey Preview Report" link under the "For Facilities" menu tab. All of the user's registered CMS Certification Numbers (CCNs) are displayed on the Preview Report webpage for review.

What results are shown in the Preview Reports?
For each CCN, the Preview Report shows the results for each variable and measure shown below:
1. The number of patients who were sampled; the number of completed surveys; and the response rate percentage during the reporting period;
2. The percentage of patients who rated the overall care they received at the HOPD or ASC a "9" or "10" on a scale of 0 (worst care possible) to 10 (best care possible);
3. The percentage of patients who reported YES, they would definitely recommend the HOPD or ASC to friends and family;
4. The percentage of patients who reported that the HOPD or ASC staff gave care in a professional way and the facility was clean;
5. The percentage of patients who reported that the HOPD or ASC staff definitely communicated with them about what to expect during and after the procedure; and
6. The percentage of patients who reported that the HOPD or ASC staff definitely gave them information about what to do if they had pain, nausea or vomiting, bleeding, or possible signs of infection as a result of the procedure or the anesthesia, if any of these outcomes were experienced. NOTE: While CMS reviews the data, Composite 3 will not be publicly reported on CMS' website. At this time, this composite score is only available directly to each facility through the Preview Report.
More information about the OAS CAHPS Survey measures in the Preview Reports can be found in Chapter XVI of the OAS CAHPS Survey Protocols and Guidelines Manual available under the Survey Materials menu tab on the OAS CAHPS website.

Which sample months are included in the Preview Report results?
The results included in the current Preview Report are based on OAS CAHPS Survey response data from patients who had an outpatient surgery or procedure October 2022 through September 2023. The future anticipated public reporting periods are provided in Table 16.2 of the OAS CAHPS Survey Protocols and Guidelines Manual.

My facility participated in the OAS CAHPS Survey, but there are no results shown. Why?
OAS CAHPS Survey results are publicly reported when an HOPD or ASC has 4 quarters of OAS CAHPS Survey data. An HOPD or ASC must have had survey response data (patients who responded to the survey) in all 4 quarters included in the public reporting period for results to be publicly reported.

Please contact the OAS CAHPS Survey Coordination Team via e-mail at oascahps@rti.org or call toll-free (866) 590-7468, if you have any questions.

Calendar Year (CY) 2023, Quarter 4 Data Submission Deadline Reminder – April 10, 2024
Data SubmissionPosted April 3, 2024

The data submission deadline for submitting Quarter 4 of calendar year 2023 data (CY23, Q4) to the OAS CAHPS Data Center is Wednesday, April 10, 2024. We thank those OAS CAHPS Survey vendors who have already begun submitting CY23, Q4 data for their client facilities. If you have not submitted any data for Quarter 4, we encourage you to begin submitting your files as soon as possible.

As we approach the next data submission deadline, please note the important points provided below.

Check your Vendor Authorization Report to make sure that all client facilities have authorized your organization to submit data on their behalf.
CMS will not accept any data files for the October, November, and/or December 2023 sample months after 8:00 PM Eastern Time on April 10, 2024.
Survey vendors should start submitting their data files as soon as possible to allow adequate time to re-submit data, if needed. You may submit files as many times as needed as long as the final file submission is successfully uploaded by the deadline.
Each time a data file for an HOPD or ASC is submitted, it overwrites any previously submitted data for that same facility for that survey period.
You must still submit an XML data file for an HOPD or ASC facility even if the corresponding monthly patient information file does not have any patients eligible to be sampled.
After each file upload, you will receive an email confirmation within several minutes notifying you whether the upload was successful.
All submitted files will go through validation checks. After the validation check is conducted, you will receive a second e-mail confirmation message notifying you whether your file has been accepted or rejected. The confirmation e-mail message will contain a hyperlink to a Data Submission Report, which shows details of the validation check and any file errors that were identified.
Survey vendors can access the Data Submission Reports on the project website by selecting "History" through the "Data Submission Reports" link in the Data Submission menu.
If you do not receive an e-mail message confirming that your file was successfully uploaded, an e-mail message providing the results of the validation checks, or you cannot view the Data Submission Reports on files that you have submitted, please contact the OAS CAHPS Data Center at oascahps@rti.org.

For additional information about data file preparation and data submission processes, please review Chapter XIII of the OAS CAHPS Survey Protocols and Guidelines Manual available under the Survey Materials tab on the OAS CAHPS website. Please contact the OAS CAHPS Survey Coordination Team via e-mail at oascahps@rti.org or call toll-free (866) 590-7468 if you have any questions or trouble submitting data files.

Update to Approved Survey Vendors Page
Other AnnouncementsPosted March 29, 2024

An update has been made to the Approved Survey Vendors page (https://oascahps.org/General-Information/Approved-Survey-Vendors) to clarify that only vendors listed on the page are approved to administer and submit data for the OAS CAHPS Survey.

Please contact the OAS CAHPS Survey Coordination Team via e-mail at oascahps@rti.org or call toll-free (866) 590-7468, if you have any questions.

Calendar Year (CY) 2023, Quarter 4 Data Submission Deadline Reminder – April 10, 2024
Data SubmissionPosted March 27, 2024

As we approach the next data submission deadline, please note the important points provided below.

Check your Vendor Authorization Report to make sure that all client facilities have authorized your organization to submit data on their behalf.
CMS will not accept any data files for the October, November, and/or December 2023 sample months after 8:00 PM Eastern Time on April 10, 2024.
Survey vendors should start submitting their data files as soon as possible to allow adequate time to re-submit data, if needed. You may submit files as many times as needed as long as the final file submission is successfully uploaded by the deadline.
Each time a data file for an HOPD or ASC is submitted, it overwrites any previously submitted data for that same facility for that survey period.
You must still submit an XML data file for an HOPD or ASC facility even if the corresponding monthly patient information file does not have any patients eligible to be sampled.
After each file upload, you will receive an email confirmation within several minutes notifying you whether the upload was successful.
All submitted files will go through validation checks. After the validation check is conducted, you will receive a second e-mail confirmation message notifying you whether your file has been accepted or rejected. The confirmation e-mail message will contain a hyperlink to a Data Submission Report, which shows details of the validation check and any file errors that were identified.
Survey vendors can access the Data Submission Reports on the project website by selecting "History" through the "Data Submission Reports" link in the Data Submission menu.
If you do not receive an e-mail message confirming that your file was successfully uploaded, an e-mail message providing the results of the validation checks, or you cannot view the Data Submission Reports on files that you have submitted, please contact the OAS CAHPS Data Center at oascahps@rti.org.

Calendar Year (CY) 2023, Quarter 4 Data Submission Deadline Reminder – April 10, 2024
Data SubmissionPosted March 13, 2024

As we approach the next data submission deadline, please note the important points provided below.

Check your Vendor Authorization Report to make sure that all client facilities have authorized your organization to submit data on their behalf.
CMS will not accept any data files for the October, November, and/or December 2023 sample months after 8:00 PM Eastern Time on April 10, 2024.
Survey vendors should start submitting their data files as soon as possible to allow adequate time to re-submit data, if needed. You may submit files as many times as needed as long as the final file submission is successfully uploaded by the deadline.
Each time a data file for an HOPD or ASC is submitted, it overwrites any previously submitted data for that same facility for that survey period.
You must still submit an XML data file for an HOPD or ASC facility even if the corresponding monthly patient information file does not have any patients eligible to be sampled.
After each file upload, you will receive an email confirmation within several minutes notifying you whether the upload was successful.
All submitted files will go through validation checks. After the validation check is conducted, you will receive a second e-mail confirmation message notifying you whether your file has been accepted or rejected. The confirmation e-mail message will contain a hyperlink to a Data Submission Report, which shows details of the validation check and any file errors that were identified.
Survey vendors can access the Data Submission Reports on the project website by selecting "History" through the "Data Submission Reports" link in the Data Submission menu.
If you do not receive an e-mail message confirming that your file was successfully uploaded, an e-mail message providing the results of the validation checks, or you cannot view the Data Submission Reports on files that you have submitted, please contact the OAS CAHPS Data Center at oascahps@rti.org.

Updated Versions of OAS CAHPS Protocols and Guidelines Manual, Standalone Documents of Translated Materials, and updated Minimum Business Requirements have been Posted
Survey MaterialsPosted February 27, 2024

Version 8.1 of the OAS CAHPS Protocols and Guidelines Manual, standalone documents of translations of the survey instrument, and the Minimum Business Requirements (MBR) have been updated and posted on the OAS CAHPS website. The OAS CAHPS Protocols and Guidelines Manual and standalone documents are available on the Survey Materials page. The MBR documentation is available on the "For Vendors" page.

The updates in Version 8.1 of the OAS CAHPS Protocols and Guidelines Manual include the following:

Chapter III: The Survey Participation Requirements section was updated to clarify that vendors must have the ability to monitor telephone interviewers in all languages being administered.
Chapters VI, VII, and IX: The Required Telephone Protocols sections of each chapter were updated to clarify telephone interviewer monitoring for each language must be conducted by supervisory staff who are conversationally fluent in that language.
Chapters VIII and IX: Changed the requirement to show "OAS CAHPS Survey" at the top of each screen on the web survey to be optional. Vendors should work with their client facilities to decide if they prefer to keep or to replace the survey name in the header. The updated recommendation reads: "As an option, vendors may choose to include a header on each web page with a reference to the OAS CAHPS Survey. It could read: "Patient Survey" or "Patient Experience of Care Survey" in the header of each screen along with the facility logo."
Chapter XVII: Updated text to remove example of a Late Start Request between 22 and 26 days after the sample month requiring the submission of a DNR.
Appendix C: Updated web survey for Q23 response scale label for "0" in Spanish. The word "centro" was truncated. Revised to: "Peor centro ambulatorio"
Appendix D: Chinese mail, CATI and web translations were updated to be consistent across modes. Specific edits made throughout each document are available to vendors upon request.
Appendix E: Korean mail, web and OMB translations were updated to be consistent with CATI. The headers of the Web version were translated. Specific edits made throughout each document are available to vendors upon request.
Appendix F: new Russian translations for all modes and materials added.
Appendix P: Added new CPT code exclusions: 25246, 27093, 31500, 36005, 36010, 36215, 36221, 36410, 37252, 49424 and 51798.

The Minimum Business Requirements documentation for telephone survey administration was updated to clarify that vendors must have the ability to monitor telephone interviewers in all languages being administered.

If you have questions, please contact the OAS CAHPS Survey Coordination Team via e-mail at oascahps@rti.org or call 1-866-590-7468.

OAS CAHPS Public Reporting Results Refreshed on Provider Data Catalog (Quarter 3, 2022 through Quarter 2, 2023)
Public ReportingPosted January 31, 2024

Outpatient and Ambulatory Surgery CAHPS (OAS CAHPS) Survey results based on responses from patients who received an outpatient surgery or procedure between July 2022 and June 2023 are now publicly available on the Provider Data Catalog (PDC) website (formerly known as Data.Medicare.gov). The PDC website provides downloadable datasets (direct link: https://data.cms.gov/provider-data/). OAS CAHPS data are also referenced on Care Compare, which points to the downloadable datasets on the PDC website under "Resources & Information" (direct link: https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/).

You can access OAS CAHPS Survey results at the facility, state and national levels. As a reminder, OAS CAHPS Survey results are updated quarterly, as shown in Table 16.2 of the OAS CAHPS Survey Protocols and Guidelines Manual.

For more information about how the data were analyzed and for the patient-mix adjustment factors that were used to statistically adjust the results that are currently being publicly reported, click on the "Patient Mix Adjustment Factors" in the Quick Links box on the Home page.

If you have any questions, please contact the OAS CAHPS Survey Coordination Team via e-mail at oascahps@rti.org or call toll-free (866) 590-7468.

Process to Suppress OAS CAHPS Survey Data from Public Reporting for April 2024 Refresh
Public ReportingPosted January 19, 2024

OAS CAHPS Survey data are scheduled refresh in April 2024, which includes data from Quarter 4, 2022 - Quarter 3, 2023.

For the April 2024 refresh, vendors must notify the OAS CAHPS Survey Coordination Team (via email at oascahps@rti.org) by February 15, 2024, of any CCNs that choose to exclude their data from public reporting. Please note that the deadline for suppression is earlier than the date by which the Preview Reports are posted on oascahps.org.

The e-mail message to the Coordination Team should include the HOPD's or ASC's name and CMS Certification Number (CCN).

Please contact the OAS CAHPS Survey Coordination Team via e-mail at oascahps@rti.org or call toll-free (866) 590-7468, if you have any questions.

OAS CAHPS Preview Reports Available for Quarter 3, 2022 through Quarter 2, 2023
Public ReportingPosted January 16, 2024

The purpose of this announcement is to alert hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs) and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) that Preview Reports reflecting results from the Outpatient and Ambulatory Surgery CAHPS (OAS CAHPS) Survey for July 2022 through June 2023 (Q3, 2022 - Q2, 2023) are now available on the OAS CAHPS website.

Who has access to a facility's Preview Report?
HOPDs and ASCs participating in the OAS CAHPS Survey have access to their own reports. The Preview Report is not available to OAS CAHPS Survey vendors or to anyone other than the facility staff registered through the https://oascahps.org website. If facility staff want to share the Preview Report with their OAS CAHPS Survey vendor or with anyone else, they can export the results to a Microsoft Excel File and distribute it.

How does a facility user access its Preview Report?
The Preview Reports are posted on the secured (private) link on https://oascahps.org/. To access a facility's report, an authorized user must first log into the OAS CAHPS website with their registered username and password. Then, select the "Survey Preview Report" link under the "For Facilities" menu tab. All of the user's registered CMS Certification Numbers (CCNs) are displayed on the Preview Report webpage for review.

What results are shown in the Preview Reports?
For each CCN, the Preview Report shows the results for each variable and measure shown below:
1. The number of patients who were sampled; the number of completed surveys; and the response rate percentage during the reporting period;
2. The percentage of patients who rated the overall care they received at the HOPD or ASC a "9" or "10" on a scale of 0 (worst care possible) to 10 (best care possible);
3. The percentage of patients who reported YES, they would definitely recommend the HOPD or ASC to friends and family;
4. The percentage of patients who reported that the HOPD or ASC staff gave care in a professional way and the facility was clean;
5. The percentage of patients who reported that the HOPD or ASC staff definitely communicated with them about what to expect during and after the procedure; and
6. The percentage of patients who reported that the HOPD or ASC staff definitely gave them information about what to do if they had pain, nausea or vomiting, bleeding, or possible signs of infection as a result of the procedure or the anesthesia, if any of these outcomes were experienced. NOTE: While CMS reviews the data, Composite 3 will not be publicly reported on CMS' website. At this time, this composite score is only available directly to each facility through the Preview Report.
More information about the OAS CAHPS Survey measures in the Preview Reports can be found in Chapter XVI of the OAS CAHPS Survey Protocols and Guidelines Manual available under the Survey Materials menu tab on the OAS CAHPS website.

Which sample months are included in the Preview Report results?
The results included in the current Preview Report are based on OAS CAHPS Survey response data from patients who had an outpatient surgery or procedure July 2022 through June 2023. The future anticipated public reporting periods are provided in Table 16.2 of the OAS CAHPS Survey Protocols and Guidelines Manual.

My facility participated in the OAS CAHPS Survey, but there are no results shown. Why?
OAS CAHPS Survey results are publicly reported when an HOPD or ASC has 4 quarters of OAS CAHPS Survey data. An HOPD or ASC must have had survey response data (patients who responded to the survey) in all 4 quarters included in the public reporting period for results to be publicly reported.

Please contact the OAS CAHPS Survey Coordination Team via e-mail at oascahps@rti.org or call toll-free (866) 590-7468, if you have any questions.

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