Assignment of a Final Disposition Code when the Questionnaire is Returned Blank
folder_openChanges to Protocols and Guidelinescalendar_todayPosted February 10, 2012

The Home Health Care CAHPS (HHCAHPS) Coordination Team is posting this announcement to remind vendors of the protocol for handling and coding questionnaires returned blank as part of a mail only survey implementation. The text below is taken directly from the HHCAHPS Survey Protocols and Guidelines Manual, Version 4.0.

For the mail-only mode it is appropriate to send a second questionnaire to the sample member if the first questionnaire is returned blank, as long as it is mailed before the end of the data collection period.

• If the second questionnaire is also returned blank, the vendor should assign a final survey disposition code “320 – refusal.”
• If the first questionnaire for the mail-only mode is never returned and the second questionnaire is returned blank, then that case should also be assigned a final disposition code of “320 – Refusal.”
• If the first questionnaire for the mail-only mode is never returned and the second questionnaire is not returned at all, the vendor should assign the final survey disposition code “350 – no response after maximum attempts.”

The following item is a new protocol related to the assignment of a final disposition code when the questionnaire is returned blank.

(New Protocol) If the first questionnaire for the mail-only mode is returned blank and the second questionnaire is never returned, then that case should be assigned a final disposition code of “350 – no response after maximum attempts.”

Note that this new protocol does not apply to questionnaires that are returned undeliverable – that is, the questionnaire package was returned by the U.S. Post Office as not being deliverable.

If you have any questions about this announcement, please contact the HHCAHPS Survey Coordination Team via e-mail at hhcahps@rti.org or call toll-free at (866) 354-0985.