Proper Disposition Code for Question 1 of HHCAHPS Survey
folder_openChanges to Protocols and Guidelinescalendar_todayPosted January 18, 2011

This announcement is to notify HHCAHPS vendors that if a respondent reports that he or she did not receive home care from the sample home health agency (Q1 in the HHCAHPS Mail Survey is answered no) and does not answer any of the other questions in the questionnaire, the disposition code that should be assigned is “220 Ineligible: Does Not Meet Eligible Population Criteria.” The definition for Disposition Code 220 is being expanded as noted below to include this category of respondents.

Ineligible: Does Not Meet Eligible Population Criteria
Assign this code if it is determined during the data collection period that the sample member does not meet all of the required eligibility criteria for being included in the survey sample. This includes the following:

• The sample member is under age 18.
• The sample member’s home health care was not paid for by either Medicare and/or Medicaid.
• The sample member reports that he or she did not have at least one skilled care visit by the sample HHA during the sample month.
• The sample member reports that the home health visits she received were for routine maternity care only.
• It is reported that the sample member was discharged to hospice care during the sample month.
• The sample member answers “no” to Q1 and no additional questions in the survey instrument are answered.

Note that for mail surveys, this code should not be assigned if the respondent marked the No response to Question 1 and answered other questions in the questionnaire. If other questions in the questionnaire are answered, the case should be treated as a completed survey if it meets the HHCAHPS questionnaire completeness criteria. This change will be made in the next version of the HHCAHPS Protocols and Guidelines Manual.