Important Reminder: Register for login credentials, and authorize your HHCAHPS vendor

Now that we are in the middle of the official "Dry Run" for HHCAHPS, there are important steps that need to be taken in order to avoid problems for your HHCAHPS vendor and their submission of your Dry Run results.

1. Register for login credentials on homehealthcahps.org
2. Once you have your username and password on homehealthcahps.org login, and authorize your selected HHCAHPS as your agency's vendor.

I've included a graphic of what the homepage looks like--where CMS has placed a new link on the front page pointing you to instructions for obtaining login credentials:

These instructions are also listed under the tab on the grey bar "For HHAs".

Once the "Dry Run" CAHPS calls are completed and data is collected, your vendor will need to upload the data to CMS's server. If you have not authorized your vendor on homehealthcahps.org , the upload will be rejected. This has happened already, prompting CMS to issue a news update on 7/22/2010 .

I've quoted the two reasons CMS has rejected HHCAHPS Dry Run data:

"Some vendors have already had their data uploads rejected for the following reasons:

1. the home health agency (HHA) had not authorized the vendor to submit HHCAHPS Survey data on its behalf; or

1. the HHA had authorized the vendor to submit data on its behalf, but the start date entered on the online “Authorize a Vendor” form that the HHA completed was after the sample month entered on the data file that the vendor attempted to submit."

To read more about these two reasons, read the entire article at https://homehealthcahps.org/GeneralInformation/Announcements.aspx#072210a

Pinnacle Quality Insight is an approved HHCAHPS survey vendor. We are here to make your HHCAHPS experience EASY. For help on this topic, or anything else in becoming CAHPS compliant, call and speak to one of our HHCAHPS experts at (877) 532-1233, or email us at inquiries@mycahps.com

Craig Christiansen
Pinnacle Quality Insight