This page provides resources for survey vendors to assist in preparing their monthly XML files. The XML Data File Layouts provide details about every data element included in the header record, patient administrative record, and patient response record. The XML Schema Files show the details of all validation that will be applied to each data element at the time the file is submitted. The OAS CAHPS Website User and Data Submission Manual provides guidance on the OAS CAHPS website functions, XML data file preparation, and file submission.

Resource	File
Website User and Data Submission Manual

Sampling Method	XML File Layout	XML Schema File (XSD)	Date Posted
Standard			5/31/23
DSRS			5/31/23
Zero Sampled			5/24/22

The XML Schema Validation Tool is available via a link in the “Data Submission” menu.

This tool allows survey vendors to "pretest" their XML files to determine if they pass basic validation steps, before actually uploading the file to the OAS CAHPS Data Center. The tests that this application will perform are:

• Well Formed test - Is your XML file a properly formatted file?
• Schema Validation - Does your XML file match the XSD Schema?
• Data element range checks - Do the values for your data elements fall within the acceptable ranges?

Here are some tips and suggestions for Survey Vendors uploading XML files to the OAS CAHPS Data Center.

1. When you create the XML data file, include the facility’s CCN number and the sample month and year as part of the file name, as shown in the following example. This will make it easy for you to keep the files organized. Example XML file name: ABCFacility_123456_2022_02.xml
2. If you are uploading more than five individual files in the upload tool, we recommend that you put those files in a single ZIP file and upload the one file.
3. If you have large individual XML files, we recommend that you ZIP the files. This will decrease the total upload time.
4. Only XML files should be included in a ZIP file. Do NOT put one ZIP file inside another ZIP file (nested ZIP files).
5. Do not include comments in your XML data files. XML files containing comments will not validate correctly. It is also important to keep the size of the files as small as possible because this will make the upload and validation process faster.
6. If you need to upload a "corrected" file to fix an error in previously submitted data, you must upload the entire file, not just the data elements that were corrected.