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What is "S&C QCOR"?
Which providers and suppliers have data on QCOR?
What is Survey and Certification data?
Is S&C QCOR a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) website?
What is the difference between "S&C QCOR" and "CASPER"?
What is the difference between "S&C QCOR" and "QIES"?
How can I learn about new S&C QCOR reports and features?
Where should I direct my questions/comments/concerns regarding the S&C QCOR website?
Do I have to register or become a member to run a report or conduct a search?
What data source is used for the S&C QCOR website?
Who are the developers of the S&C QCOR website?
How often are the S&C QCOR data updated?
How do I interpret deficiency results for transplant programs?
How long does it take to get a report?
How do I search for a provider?
What data methodologies are used in creating QCOR Reports?
Why is there an "Active Provider and Supplier" report that addresses different time spans?
Will additional reports be added to the "S&C QCOR" website?
Is there information available for the interpretation of the results?
Do Nursing Home Deficiency Reports include deficiencies under dispute by nursing homes?
How often are the top 10 chain affiliated nursing homes updated?
Do I have to choose a value for each selection criterion (filter) in order to produce a report?
Can I review state or provider/supplier specific data?
Is there documentation available to assist new QCOR users with the proper procedures for running the QCOR Workload Report?
How do I print my results?
Are there printable charts/graphs available?
Questions and Answers About the S&C QCOR Website
Q: What is "S&C QCOR"?
A: S&C QCOR is an online reporting system. The goal of S&C QCOR is to provide timely data about providers and suppliers of Medicare and Medicaid services, such as hospitals and nursing homes. The data are provided in tabular reports.
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Q: Which providers and suppliers have data on QCOR?
A: Currently, you can view data about Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASCs), CLIA Laboratories, Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs), Comprehensive Outpatient Rehab Facilities (CORFs), Dialysis Facilities (ESRDs), Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Home Health Agencies (HHAs), Hospices, Hospitals, Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF), Multi-Provider Reports, Nursing Homes (nursing facilities and skilled nursing facilities), Organ Procurement Organizations (OPO), Outpatient Physical Therapy/Speech Pathology (OPT), Portable X-ray Suppliers, Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTFs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs). S&C QCOR reports do not include data about providers that are not officially certified or deemed qualified to provide Medicare and Medicaid services.
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Q: What is Survey and Certification data?
A: Survey and Certification data are data collected by CMS to track and oversee providers of Medicare and Medicaid services. These include provider information such as name, address, size, ownership, and inspection (survey) results. Some data about residents" clinical characteristics are also collected as part of survey and certification operations.
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Q: Is S&C QCOR a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) website?
A: Yes, S&C QCOR is produced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
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Q: What is the difference between "S&C QCOR" and "CASPER"?
A: QCOR is simply a new way of viewing and analyzing the data stored in CASPER and other databases within the Quality Improvement and Evaluation Systems (QIES) at CMS.
QCOR was developed for individuals who need reports quickly, but who have little time or interest in mastering a computer reporting application. QCOR is ideal for individuals who need summary data rather than detailed survey-level data. For these reasons, the priorities for QCOR are speed, accuracy, flexibility, and user-friendliness. To accomplish this, QCOR data are updated once a week and summarized. This reduces the amount of time a user spends waiting for complex reports. In addition, QCOR utilizes common terminology that most users will understand, instead of terms that are specific to the survey process.
CASPER focuses on the survey process in real time. The data are updated more frequently, so there is no appreciable data lag. The CASPER reports often focus on survey-level data and survey process concerns (survey status, processing times, important dates/milestones, etc.) more than on trends. CASPER is designed for individuals who understand the details of the survey process. It is great for individuals who need data to plan, execute, and complete a survey.
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Q: What is the difference between "S&C QCOR" and "QIES"?
A: The data in QCOR reports are taken from databases in QIES (Quality Improvement and Evaluation Systems). Examples of QIES databases are:
- CASPER, which houses data about surveys and the certification process;
- MDS (Minimum Data Set), which houses nursing home resident clinical data; and
- OASIS, which includes Home health agency patient clinical data.
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Q: How can I learn about new S&C QCOR reports and features?
A: When we add a new report or feature, it will be highlighted in the "What"s New" section of the home page.
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Q: Where should I direct my questions/comments/concerns regarding the S&C QCOR website?
A: You may send your question, comment, or concern to the following e-mail address: qcorhelp@exploredigits.com.
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Q: Do I have to register or become a member to run a report or conduct a search?
A: No. QCOR access is open to the public.
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Q: What data source is used for the S&C QCOR website?
A: The source of the data is the CASPER database. CASPER is part of the CMS Quality Improvement and Evaluation Systems (QIES).
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Q: Who are the developers of the S&C QCOR website?
A: QCOR was developed by the Quality Safety and Oversight Group (QSOG) in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS). QSOG is responsible for the site"s content. Primary technical and programming support are provided by Explore Digits.
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Q: How often are the S&C QCOR data updated?
A: The data are updated once weekly and the date that the data were taken from CASPER appears on the bottom of every report page. An update may be delayed one or two days during the week of a federal holiday.
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Q: How do I interpret deficiency results for transplant programs?
A: The Survey and Deficiency Reports for transplant programs allow users to select survey results by deficiency tags. The deficiency "X" tag has a unique second character to identify the organ type. By default, the deficiency tags are unselected and will include all deficiencies for all organ transplant programs. To view deficiencies by organ type, users must select the following tag sets:
XA = adult kidney
XB = adult pancreas
XC = adult heart
XD = adult heart/lung
XE = Adult lung
XF = Adult liver
XG = Adult intestine/multivisceral
XH = Pediatric kidney
XI = Pediatric pancreas
XJ = Pediatric heart
XK = Pediatric heart/lung
XL = Pediatric lung
XM = Pediatric liver
XN = Pediatric intestine/multivisceral
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Questions and Answers About S&C QCOR Reports
Q: How long does it take to get a report?
A: Reports will be returned in less than 25 seconds. Very complex reports that process an unusually large amount of data may take longer. The traffic on your local computer network and the processing speed of your computer may also affect the time it takes for a report to be displayed.
If reports consistently take longer than 25 seconds, please contact the QCOR Help Desk by e-mail at qcorhelp@exploredigits.com.
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Q: How do I search for a provider?
A: To search for a provider, select Basic Search from the list on the home page. You will be prompted to enter your search criteria. Click "Search" to begin the search.
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Q: What data methodologies are used in creating QCOR Reports?
A: Each report is different, so it is important to read the information in the Help section to learn more about how the report was created. The link to Help is located in the QCOR banner.
There are a few facts that are the same for every report:
- Reports include accepted (final) CASPER records only.
- A provider or supplier is considered active if it was active at any point in the selected interval (e.g. calendar year, month).
- QCOR data are updated once a week. The date of the last update appears on the report.
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Q: Why is there an "Active Provider and Supplier" report that addresses different time spans?
A: The Active Provider and Supplier Counts Report displays the number of providers or suppliers that participated in Medicare or Medicaid during all or part the year(s) selected. This allows the QCOR user to compare numbers across years. The report does not display the number of providers or suppliers that are active on a specific day.
To approximate the number of providers or suppliers that are active today, select the current year as the Begin Year and End Year before you run the report. When the report loads, make sure that the Year Type Filter is set to "Calendar". Select the current month for the "Month" filter value. The numbers should be similar to the numbers you would get if you counted provider that are active today.
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Q: Will additional reports be added to the "S&C QCOR" website?
A: Yes. New reports will be added as they are developed. If you have an idea for a report, you may send your suggestion to the e-mail address listed in Resources section.
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Q: Is there information available for the interpretation of the results?
A: Yes, the QCOR help text offers information about the reports that may help you interpret them. The "Help" link in the QCOR banner will lead you to the help text for the page you are viewing. If you need additional assistance, please contact the QCOR Help Desk by e-mail at qcorhelp@exploredigits.com
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Q: Do Nursing Home Deficiency Reports include deficiencies under dispute by nursing homes?
A: Yes, deficiencies under dispute by nursing homes are included in the Nursing Home Deficiency Reports on S&C QCOR.
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Q: How often are the top 10 chain affiliated nursing homes updated?
A: The updates are quarterly. They occur in January, April, July, and October.
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Questions and Answers About S&C QCOR Navigation
Q: Do I have to choose a value for each selection criterion (filter) in order to produce a report?
A: No. You can run most QCOR reports without changing any of the default (preset) criteria. Just click the RUN button at the top of the page to run the report. You can change the criteria later by clicking the CHANGE CRITERIA button below the completed report.
If you try to run a report that requires you to enter a value first, such as the Overdue Recertification Survey Counts Report, QCOR will tell you where to enter the value.
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Q: Can I review state or provider/supplier specific data?
A: Yes. Within most reports, you may click once on the region name to view State-level data. (In some reports, the region and State selections are made on the selection criteria pages.) To view provider/supplier names and data, click once on the State name. For additional provider data, click once on the provider name. You may also use the Search for Provider function on the report selection page to go directly to the information for a specific provider.
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Q: Is there documentation available to assist new QCOR users with the proper procedures for running the QCOR Workload Report?
A: Yes. In the "Resource" section of the QCOR website, there is a PDF file which provides assistance to new QCOR users when running the QCOR Workload Report.
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Questions and Answers About Printing/Archiving S&C QCOR Reports
Q: How do I print my results?
A: You may print your results by using the browser printing controls. For example, in Internet Explorer, click "File" on the menu bar. When the menu drops down, click "Print" to print the page.
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Q: Are there printable charts/graphs available?
A: No, but you may copy and paste the table into a spreadsheet application that has a graphing option, such as Microsoft Excel. You may wish to use text-only version of the report for copying and pasting. To do so, click "Go to Text-only Version" in the upper right corner of the report. Pasting a report copied from the normal report view may require additional formatting.
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