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Announcement

Aligning Gatekeeper Refusal Protocol with Hospital CAHPS (HCAHPS)
folder_openSurvey Specifications and Guidelinescalendar_todayPosted April 27, 2021

This purpose of this announcement is to alert OAS CAHPS Survey vendors administering the OAS CAHPS Survey via telephone mode that CMS has modified the protocols for handling gatekeeper refusal to better align with Hospital CAHPS (HCAHPS). Below are two excerpts from the OAS CAHPS Survey Protocols and Guidelines Manual, Version 5.0, that show the protocol changes.

These revisions will be folded into the next edition of the Protocols and Guidelines Manual, which is scheduled to be released later this year. Please review and incorporate these changes (where appropriate) in OAS CAHPS Survey operations.

Excerpt from Chapters VI and VII of the Protocols and Guidelines Manual, Version 5.0:

  • Once the interviewer has confirmed that the sample member is on the phone, if the sample member hangs up (without any comment) before or during the introductory script, the case should be called again on a different day of the week and at a different time of day. If the sample member hangs up (without any comment) after the introductory script but before any survey questions are answered, the interviewer should code the case as a refusal. As a reminder, final disposition code 320 - Refusal can only be assigned if sample members (not a gatekeeper or other individual) indicate they do not wish to participate in the survey.

     NOTE : The text in red above is an unrelated clarification that will be issued with the next edition of the Manual.

Excerpt from Table 9.1 in the Protocols and Guidelines Manual, Version 5.0:

Code

Description

320

Refusal

This code should be assigned if the sample member indicates either in writing or verbally that he or she does not wish to participate in the survey.

Mail-Only Mode

This code should also be assigned if the first questionnaire mailing is never returned or is returned blank and the second questionnaire is returned blank during the data collection period.

Telephone-Only Mode and Mixed Mode

This code should be assigned if the sample member (not a gatekeeper or other individual) states that he or she does not wish to participate in the 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.