Dear Home Health Agency (HHA):
The Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (QIES), which providers and vendors use to submit assessment data, is being upgraded to make the system more reliable, scalable, secure, and accessible. The enhancements will occur in phases (by provider type) and began with Long-Term Care Hospitals (LTCHs) in March 2019, to be followed by Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs) in October 2019 and Home Health Agencies (HHAs) in January 2020. The enhanced system is referred to as the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES).
The initial rollout of iQIES will not change how providers or vendors submit data. However, iQIES will require a new user management system because virtual private network (VPN) and CMSNet are no longer needed to access this system. All users will have to create an account and establish credentials in the Healthcare Quality Information System (HCQIS) Access, Roles and Profile system (HARP). HARP is a secure identity management portal that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) provides.
Through HARP, the level of access for iQIES will be similar to the roles that exist in QIES but with the addition of a Provider Security Official (PSO). The individual designated as the PSO will be responsible for approving or rejecting iQIES user access requests for their respective organizations, including vendors.
For your organization to receive access to iQIES, your organization must first complete the steps below according to the following schedule:
1. Identify an individual who will be the Provider Security Official (PSO).
2. Register the PSO in the Healthcare Quality Information System (HCQIS) Access Roles and Profile (HARP) system at: harp.qualitynet.org/register/profile-info.
3. After your MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) is complete, choose the iQIES application presented to you to request your Security Official role. Alternatively, you can access iQIES at the following URL: https://iqies.cms.gov/ to complete your role request.
For assistance with HARP onboarding, users can call the QTSO Helpdesk at (800) 339-9313 or e-mail help@qtso.com. If you have questions related to iQIES, please send them to iQIES_Broadcast@cms.hhs.gov.
Onboarding Start Date – Home Health Provider`s State
08/01/2019 – CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT
08/01/2019 – DC, DE, MD, PA, VA, WV
09/01/2019 – IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI
09/01/2019 – AR, LA, NM, OK, TX
10/02/2019 – AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN
10/02/2019 – IA, KS, MO, NE
10/02/2019 – CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY
10/02/2019 – AK, ID, OR, WA
11/01/2019 – NJ, NY, PR, VI
11/01/2019 – AZ, CA, GU, HI, MP, NV
Please note that at this time, only certified Home Health Agencies will be onboarded to iQIES.
**Although onboarding for HHAs will begin in August, iQIES assessment submission functionality for HHAs will not be available until January 1, 2020. Although this functionality will not be available immediately, we encourage HHA security officials to request access to iQIES as soon as onboarding for your organization`s state has begun. CMS advises that HHAs register two security officials, if possible, as doing so will allow for a smoother transition prior to the January go live date. Upon receiving access, security officials will have access to ‘My Profile` and ‘Help` in iQIES.
To comply with federal security mandates, CMS is initiating new security requirements for access control to CMS Quality Systems through Remote Identify Proofing (RIDP) via HARP. Users will need to create an account in HARP to gain access to the iQIES system. to view the fact sheet that CMS has prepared about this process visit qtso.cms.gov/news-and-updates/…
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) related to HARP can be accessed using the link: harp.qualitynet.org/login/help