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The ACO REACH CAHPS 1st Interim Data Submission for Performance Year 2024 deadline is TODAY
Data SubmissionPosted October 7, 2024

The ACO REACH CAHPS 1^st interim data submission for performance year (PY) 2024 deadline is TODAY, Monday, October 7, 2024.

We thank those ACO REACH CAHPS vendors who have already submitted PY 2024 1st interim data for their client ACOs. If you have not yet submitted PY 2024 first interim data for your client ACOs, please submit your file(s) by 11:59 PM ET today, October 7, 2024.

Important Note: Since CMS will not accept any first interim files after October 7, 2024, please make sure you check your data submission reports to verify that all your submitted files were accepted. And, correct and re-submit all files before the data submission deadline.

For information about data file preparation and submission processes, please review Chapter 7 of the ACO REACH CAHPS Quality Assurance Guidelines (QAG).

The ACO REACH CAHPS Survey Coordination Team will review all submitted interim files immediately upon submission. We will run a series of edits on survey data to check for issues such as inconsistencies, patterns, or unusual values. If we identify any issues, we’ll contact the survey vendor and explain the problem(s), determine the correction(s) needed, and ask the vendor to correct the issues, if any, for the 2^nd data submission. Please see section 10.4 of the QAG for additional detail on the data review performed by the ACO REACH CAHPS Survey Coordination Team.

Please contact the ACO REACH CAHPS Survey Coordination Team if you have any questions.

The ACO REACH CAHPS 1st Interim Data Submission for Performance Year 2024 is now open through October 7, 2024
Data SubmissionPosted October 3, 2024

The 1^st interim data submission window for ACO REACH CAHPS Survey Performance Year 2024 is now open and will remain open through Monday October 7, 2024, 11:59 PM ET. We encourage survey vendors to submit their PY 2024 1^st interim data files as soon as possible. Refer to How to Upload Your Interim Data if necessary.

Vendors are encouraged to take advantage of the available resources which are key to successful data submissions: the XML File Layout, the XML Schema File (XSD) and the Example XML File. Use the Schema Validation Tool once you have a complete XML file which you are ready to test by following the steps below:

Log in to your account on the ACO REACH CAHPS website.
Select “Schema Validation Tool” from the Data Submission drop-down menu.
Select the XML file you would like to validate.
Click “Validate” to run the validation checks on your XML file. This application performs the following checks:
- Well-formed test: Is your XML file a properly formatted file?
- Schema validation: Does your XML file match the ACO REACH CAHPS XML Schema File?
- Data element range checks: Do the values for your data elements fall within the acceptable ranges?
Once you choose your file and click on the “Validate” button, the system will provide an onscreen report that tells you that the file passed all checks or indicate the specific data elements in the file which have errors.
You may adjust and re-run your XML files through the validation tool as many times as you like. Be aware that no data from the Schema Validation Tool is saved on the ACO REACH CAHPS website.

Note: Since CMS will not accept any first interim files after October 7, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET, please make sure you check your validation information and data submission reports to verify that all your submitted files were accepted. And, correct and re-submit all files before the data submission deadline.

For information about data file preparation and submission processes, please review Chapter 7 of the ACO REACH CAHPS Quality Assurance Guidelines. The full data collection schedule is also on the home page of the ACO REACH CAHPS website.

Please contact the ACO REACH CAHPS Survey Coordination Team if you have any questions.

ACO REACH CAHPS: Reminder on How to Code 88’s vs. M’s
Other AnnouncementsPosted September 27, 2024

As the deadline for the 1 ^st interim data submission approaches (due on October 7^th, 2024), the ACO REACH CAHPS Survey Coordination Team would like to remind vendors how to use the non-response codes of 88 versus Missing (or "M") and particularly how to code non-response to the revised race question (Q52 (St/NE), Q58 (HN)).

As a reminder, for gated items (follow-up questions that are inappropriately skipped, the non-response code should be "M". The non-response code of "88" should be used to indicate the follow-up question is Not Applicable, thus skipped appropriately. See section 6.2.5. Coding Questions that Have No Responses in the ACO REACH CAHPS Quality Assurance Guidelines for Survey Vendors (v.4.0).

In section 6.2.4 of the ACO REACH CAHPS QAG (v.4.0), we outline that:

"[F]or the race series of questions, if the respondent receives the subcategory race questions, meaning they stated in the previous screener question that they are a certain race category, then non-selected items should be marked as "M - Missing;" otherwise, the value should be "88" indicating the subcategory race questions were properly skipped."

We have provided two examples below. For Example 1, all "Asian - Please Specify" subcategories should be coded as "M", given the "Asian - Please Specify" response was selected, but no other subcategories under "Asian" were selected. In Example 2, all "Asian - Please Specify" subcategories should be coded as "88", given the "Asian - Please Specify" response was not selected, therefore the subcategories were skipped appropriately.

Example 1: Use Code "M" for "Asian" subcategories	Example 2: Use Code "88" for "Asian" subcategories

The correct codes for each example are as follows:

	Example 1	Example 2
raceamerindian	M	1
raceasian	M	88
racechinese	M	88
racefilipino	M	88
racejapanese	M	88
racekorean	M	88
racevietnam	M	88
raceotherasian	M	88
raceafricanamer	M	1
raceguamcham	88	88
racenativehawaiian	88	88
racesamoan	88	88
raceotherpacisland	88	88
racewhite	M	M

Please contact the ACO REACH CAHPS Survey Coordination Team at acoreachcahps@rti.org or by calling the toll-free number if you have any questions.

The ACO REACH CAHPS 1st Interim Data Submission window for PY2024 opens on October 3, 2024
Data SubmissionPosted September 26, 2024

The 1st interim data submission window for ACO REACH CAHPS Survey Performance Year 2024 will open on Thursday October 3, 2024. The deadline to submit interim data is 11:59 PM ET Monday, October 7, 2024. Please refer to How to Upload Your Interim Data for instructions on submitting your data.

Log in to your account on the ACO REACH CAHPS website.
Select “Schema Validation Tool” from the Data Submission drop-down menu.
Select the XML file you would like to validate.
Click “Validate” to run the validation checks on your XML file. This application performs following checks:
Well-formed test: Is your XML file a properly formatted file?
Schema validation: Does your XML file match the ACO REACH CAHPS XSD schema file?
Data element range checks: Do the values for your data elements fall within the acceptable ranges?

Once you choose your file and click the “Validate” button, the system will provide an onscreen report that tells you that the file passed all checks or indicate the specific data elements in the file which have errors. You may adjust and re-run your XML files through the validation tool as many times as you like. Be aware that no data from the Schema Validation Tool is saved on the ACO REACH CAHPS website.

Important Note: CMS will not accept any first interim files after October 7, 2024. Therefore, take advantage of the time in September and October to create your XML files and use the Schema Validation Tool to test them. This will help ensure a successful data submission during the October 3 – October 7 window. Once you have submitted data, check your data submission reports to verify that all your submitted files were accepted. And, correct and re-submit all files before the data submission deadline.

Please contact the ACO REACH CAHPS Survey Coordination Team if you have any questions.

Virtual Site Visits for All ACO REACH CAHPS Vendors with Active PY 2024 ACOs
Other AnnouncementsPosted September 4, 2024

Virtual site visits for all ACO REACH CAHPS Survey vendors with active PY 2024 REACH ACOs will be conducted to ensure compliance with all ACO REACH CAHPS requirements. The ACO REACH CAHPS team will email vendors information about the proposed date, any area(s) of concern, and specific vendor personnel who should be in attendance. The ACO REACH CAHPS Survey Coordination Team and the vendor will schedule the site visit at a mutually agreeable time. Once it is scheduled, CMS staff may elect to attend the site visit.

Generally, the ACO REACH CAHPS virtual site visit team will consist of two to four individuals. The visit will be conducted through the HIPAA-compliant Zoom videoconferencing tool. Video conference calls will be scheduled over 2 days. Overall, the site visit will incorporate approximately 8 hours of meetings. If a subcontractor is used in a substantial role, the subcontractor will be invited to the site visit as well.

Approximately two weeks prior to the virtual site visit, the ACO REACH CAHPS team will send a Site Visit Agenda specifying the documents or other resources the vendor is expected to present during the video conference calls. This communication will also specify the materials the vendor is expected to prepare for submission to RTI prior to the site visit. Examples of such documents/resources/materials may include but are not limited to:

a video “walk through” of the physical area used for interviewing, mailing, or data processing
a document “step through” of the systems and processes used from the point of receiving the sample file to preparation of a final data file
software/programs used in downloading and storing the sample file
Scanned hardcopy mail questionnaires
CATI records and/or digital recordings of telephone surveys
review of telephone interviewing monitoring logs
walkthrough of methods used for tracking contacts made and status codes
documentation and observation related to SPAM flagging
a review of documentation of the above steps
interviews with the survey vendor’s key ACO REACH CAHPS project staff, including the Project Manager and Data Manager
a discussion about the Help Desk voicemail and email
walkthrough of the systems in place to protect the confidentiality of electronic data received from ACO REACH CAHPS Survey team and survey data received from beneficiaries
Closing conference review, where RTI will share a summary of the site visit findings, including deficiencies and problems observed, and collect questions/concerns from the vendor to share with CMS

To streamline the site visit call, vendors are encouraged to give a presentation that describes their survey processes, focusing on changes made since the PY 2023 site visit. One week prior to the virtual site visit, the ACO REACH CAHPS team will host a brief pre-site visit meeting to review the agenda, answer any questions that the vendor might have about the site visit, and to test the screensharing features in Zoom.

Both the ACO REACH CAHPS site visit team and the survey vendor staff will sign a Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA). The CDA states that all staff must maintain confidence or restrict the disclosure of all proprietary information, personally identifiable information (PII), or protected health information (PHI) received or observed during the site visit.

After each site visit, the ACO REACH CAHPS team will prepare and submit to CMS a Site Visit Report, which will summarize the findings from each site visit, including any deficiencies and problems observed and remaining. The Site Visit Report will also describe corrective actions that the survey vendor will be required to take to correct deficiencies or problems, if any were noted. The ACO REACH CAHPS Site Visit team will provide the survey vendor with the Site Visit Report after it has been reviewed with CMS project staff.

Vendors with questions should contact the ACO REACH CAHPS team via e-mail at acoreachcahps@rti.org or call 1-833-870-0486

Approximately One Week Until the Start of 2024 ACO REACH CAHPS data collection!
Other AnnouncementsPosted August 30, 2024

Data collection for the ACO REACH CAHPS Survey begins September 9, 2024. CMS and the ACO REACH CAHPS Survey Coordination Team appreciate all the survey vendors’ hard work in preparing for this survey. A few reminders are below.

Survey vendors are reminded that they are required to provide their REACH ACO clients with their toll-free Help Desk phone number. This allows ACOs to provide the phone number to patients with survey-related questions. Additionally, some ACOs keep Patient Waiting Room FAQs in their offices, and ACOs opting to do so can write/print the vendors’ Help Desk number on the FAQs. The FAQs are located on the ACO REACH CAHPS website: https://acoreachcahps.org/Portals/0/SurveyMaterials/ACOREACHCAHPSWaitingRoomFAQsEnglish.pdf

https://acoreachcahps.org/Portals/0/SurveyMaterials/ACOREACHCAHPSWaitingRoomFAQsSpanish.pdf

Below are some key upcoming data collection dates:

Monday, September 9 – Start of mail data collection – 1^st Questionnaire mailing

Tuesday, September 10 – Survey Vendor Help Desk opens

Monday, September 30 – Reminder/Thank you postcard mailing

Monday, October 7 – 1^st interim data submission due from vendors

Tuesday, October 15 – 2^nd Questionnaire mailing to non-respondents

October 2024 – January 2025 – ACO REACH CAHPS Survey Coordination Team conducts survey vendor site visits (more details regarding site visits will be sent in the coming weeks)

Tuesday, November 12 – Telephone (CATI) non-response follow-up begins

Monday, November 25 – 2^nd interim data submission due from vendors

Friday, December 6 – End of mail and telephone data collection period

Monday, January 13 – Final data submission due from vendors

Please contact the ACO REACH CAHPS Coordination Team at acoreachcahps@rti.org or by calling the toll-free number 1-833-870-0486 if you have any questions.

RTI International will be closed Monday, September 2, 2024
Other AnnouncementsPosted August 26, 2024

RTI International will be closed Monday, September 2, 2024, for the Labor Day holiday. The ACO REACH CAHPS Survey Coordination Team will resume responding to email and telephone technical assistance inquiries on Tuesday, September 3, 2024.

Please contact the ACO REACH CAHPS Coordination Team at acoreachcahps@rti.org or by calling the toll-free number if you have any questions.

Reminder to Vendors to Provide Their REACH ACOs With the Help Desk Telephone Number and Email, For Waiting Room FAQs
Other AnnouncementsPosted August 26, 2024

This announcement serves to remind ACO REACH CAHPS Survey vendors to notify client ACOs of their toll-free Help Desk contact information. Survey vendors’ Help Desks should be operational by the date the first questionnaires are mailed (September 9, 2024) and agents prepared to answer questions from sampled beneficiaries (or their family members, friends, or caregivers) who call or email with questions about the ACO REACH CAHPS Survey.

ACOs will write/print the Survey vendors’ toll-free number onto the CMS-provided document called Waiting Room FAQs. CMS encourages ACOs to display this document prominently. Having the Survey vendors’ toll-free number on the FAQs increases the perceived legitimacy of the survey. For reference, the Waiting Room FAQs are provided on the ACO REACH CAHPS website (https://acoreachcahps.org/Survey-and-Protocols) and posted in the REACH ACO 4i Knowledge Library.

Please contact the ACO REACH CAHPS Survey Coordination Team at acoreachcahps@rti.org or by calling the toll-free number if you have any questions.

ACO REACH CAHPS Survey Recommendation that REACH ACOs Provide their Vendor with Patient Information
Other AnnouncementsPosted August 22, 2024

ACO REACH CAHPS Survey Vendors: Please remind your client REACH ACOs that CMS strongly encourages them to give their vendors three pieces of information which make the survey more successful.

The first is a list of assisted living/residential care facilities where their patients live. The second is their Medicare patient list with patient’s name, address, phone number, and (if the vendor desires) patient date of birth. The third is the contact information for patients’ Healthcare Decisionmaker Power of Attorney (POA).

As noted in Section 3.4.4 of the ACO REACH CAHPS Quality Assurance Guidelines, “CMS strongly encourages REACH ACOs to provide their authorized survey vendor the names and addresses of residential care facilities and assisted living facilities where beneficiaries in their REACH ACO reside. It is preferable if all such facilities can be identified, but at a minimum the REACH ACO should identify all such facilities where five or more of their beneficiaries reside. To identify facilities, the REACH ACO can scan through their beneficiary’s addresses or do a geographical search of nearby residential care/assisted living facilities.”

ACO REACH CAHPS Survey vendors will be responsible for identifying patients in the sample file who are residing at these facilities. These patients will receive their survey in a special envelope designed to catch the attention of facility staff and solicit proxy respondents. These patients also do not receive telephone follow-up due to the burden this causes facility staff.

As noted in Section 3.4.3 of the ACO REACH CAHPS Quality Assurance Guidelines, “CMS encourages REACH ACOs to provide their vendor with updated contact information on all Medicare beneficiaries in their REACH ACO. REACH ACOs may restrict this list to Medicare beneficiaries who had a visit in the sampling window (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024, for PY2024).”

As noted in an announcement posted on July 9, 2024, for REACH ACOs who have patients’ Healthcare Decisionmaker POA on file, CMS strongly encourages ACOs to give their vendors the POA name and available contact information for survey purposes. If sharing such information, ACOs need to share it for every patient who has a Healthcare Decisionmaker POA; ACOs cannot share it for selected patients.

A REACH ACO newsletter article will remind ACOs about these recommendations.

Deadline to Download ACO REACH CAHPS Survey Vendor Sample Files is TODAY, August 21, 2024
Sample DownloadPosted August 21, 2024

This is a reminder that the deadline to download the sample files for the 2024 ACO REACH CAHPS Survey is today, August 21, 2024, by 11:59 PM Eastern Time (ET).

Carefully review your downloaded file to ensure:

You have a sample for each authorized REACH ACO. A sample file will ONLY contain REACH ACOs for which that vendor has been authorized by a client REACH ACO.
You do not have any REACH ACOs in your sample file with whom you have NOT contracted. If you encounter this situation, immediately notify the ACO REACH CAHPS Survey Coordination Team via email.

Please contact us if you have questions at acoreachcahps@rti.org or call 1-833-870-0486.

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