DDSP BASICS

Key benefits of the DDSP include:

• 24/7 access during the submission period,

• Easy to use data visuals,

• Cloud-based Platform environment with fast file transfer,

• Robust security and HIPAA compliance,

• State of the art rules engine for eCQM data,

• Transparency

• Organizations can see results and outcomes prior to the final submission step of submitting data to The Joint Commission.

The DDSP does not replace an organization’s ONC-ACB certified Healthcare Record (EHR) and/or Health Information Technology (HIT) vendor(s) being used to capture patient data and/or generate their QRDA I documents.

The Direct Data Submission Platform (DDSP) does not replace the Joint Commission Connect site.

“Joint Commission Connect” is a secure website portal used by The Joint Commission for accreditation/certification purposes and related survey activity.

The DDSP is a separate secure website specifically designed to support organization’s activities of submitting performance measurement data to The Joint Commission to meet ORYX reporting requirements.

The DDSP and JC Connect have separate log-ins on The Joint Commission website: https://www.jointcommission.org/login/

URL: https://www.jointcommission.org/login/

The Joint Commission and CMS are separate entities with separate requirements. The DDSP does not replace chart-abstracted or eCQM data submission to CMS using the QualityNet secure portal. CMS' QualityNet is specifically for receiving the submission of eCQM and chart-abstracted data to CMS only. CMS' QualityNet portal does not share/send data to The Joint Commission for a facilities eCQM or chart-abstracted measures. The Joint Commission cannot provide QualityNet with Joint Commission data.

The DDSP does not replace CMIP. The DDSP is for submission of accreditation data. CMIP is for manually entering certification data.

The Joint Commission has completed a rigorous evaluation process of the privacy and security components of the technology to ensure the DDSP meets privacy and security standards. Additional details regarding the compliance of the privacy and security standards is available in the Legal section of the DDSP.

Organization’s need to ensure they use a supported internet browser version to be able to use the DDSP.

NOTE:  If you are not using one of the supported browser/versions on the computer(s) for use with the Joint Commission DDSP, please work with your internal information systems staff to download or upgrade to one of the browser/versions listed.  If you elect not to use a supported browser/version, you may not be able to log into the DDSP or use all of its functionality.  Browsers should be configured to enable JavaScript. 

The Joint Commission utilizes several resources to provide support to DDSP users. Verify with your internal IT department these emails have been added to a “safe-sender” list and not blocked or routed to junk/spam/clutter:

• The Signature Authority is specific to the DDSP.

• They are the first person to log onto the DDSP for a given organization.

• The Signature Authority is the organization representative who has signing authority on behalf of their organization(s) and agrees to and accept the required legal forms related to the DDSP.

• Once the platform has been initially accessed and the legal agreements signed, the Signature Authority is now simply a user on the Platform.

• After initially accessing the DDSP, the Signature Authority can invite additional users to access their DDS workspace. These additional users may include other staff who can invite and manage other users.

• The Signature Authority is not necessarily the same person who performs the data submission process. On-boarding is related to the agreement and acceptance of the required legal forms related to the DDSP.

• Signature Authority's should on-board as early as possible to facilitate the review and acceptance of the legal forms.

• If a Signature Authority changes roles or leaves the organization, the “signatory” role does not need to be reassigned, as they were the legal representative at the time the organization onboarded. If an organization does elect to add/change the signatory, be aware that no users can access the platform until the new signatory has accepted their invitation and signed off on use of the platform.

There are two or three distinct steps required to utilize the DDSP:

(1) organization onboarding (See Question/Answer 8.13 for information regarding onboarding);

(2) For eCQMs, (A) uploading QRDA I documents and (B) submitting eCQM data;

(3) For Chart-Abstracted Measures, entering and saving aggregate data.

NOTE: Each organization is responsible for all users who are invited and granted permissions on the DDSP per the legal agreements.

The Signature Authority is specific to the DDSP onboarding process and may or may not be the same as the organization’s ORYX Contact. The DDSP does not modify the ORYX Contact on Joint Commission Connect.

Newly accredited organizations provide the name of the Signature Authority who signs off on use of the platform on behalf of their organization or healthcare system via email to hcooryx@jointcommission.org. The Signature Authority is the first person to initially access the DDSP and signs off on the legal documents on behalf of the organization . Once an organization has accessed the Platform and additional users have been granted access, there is no longer need for a specified Signature Authority. If a newly accredited organization is unable to access the DDSP, or an existing organization is unable to access the DDSP due to staff changes, they should contact hcooryx@jointcommission.org.

Organization staff using the DDSP for measure submission can grant external user permissions to assist with functionality at their discretion. Organization staff can add/invite users via the DDSP menu topic, “Invite & Manage Users”. Organization staff using the Joint Commission’s DDSP are responsible for the data submission process and the relationships with users on the DDSP.

Effective 1/1/2020, The Joint Commission no longer has contracts with ORYX vendors and there is no longer a list of Joint Commission approved ORYX vendors. All organizations utilize the DDSP for submission of both chart-abstracted measures and eCQMs data for accreditation purposes. Organizations have the option of inviting a third-party consultant, such as a vendor, to the DDSP to assist with data submission at their discretion.

DDSP ONBOARDING AND ACCESS

Initial access to the DDSP is granted via email invitation to Organization's Signature Authority. Once the Signature Authority has accepted the initial invitation and additional users have been invited, the DDSP can be accessed via the external Joint Commission website log in page https://www.jointcommission.org/login/

https://www.jointcommission.org/login/

All organizations with ORYX Performance Measurement requirements are required to onboard to the DDSP. Joint Commission accredited organizations accredited as of CY2022 were onboarded to the new Joint Commission DDSP in July 2022.

After the initial onboarding to the new platform in 2022, we onboard newly accredited organizations quarterly. If a newly accredited organizations has not heard from us and needs to be onboarded to the DDSP, they should contact The Joint Commission via email to: hcooryx@jointcommission.org

All HCOs required to submit ORYX data for accreditation purposes need to onboard and access the DDSP. The Joint Commission initially onboards each organizations identified Signature Authority.
The organization is responsible for all users who are invited and granted permissions on the DDSP per the legal agreements signed by the organization.  The users granted permission could include organization staff, healthcare system staff and anyone else who is needed to assist in a successful submission of data for the organization (e.g., consultant, vendor).

Each individual who accepts an invitation to the DDSP will have a username and password. For reasons of security and privacy, as a user, you are responsible for not sharing your username and password.

The DDSP utilizes “Multi Factor Authentication” as an extra layer of security beyond a password and username.

We strongly encourage organizations to work with their internal IT departments to install and understand the use of MFA applications.

If one MFA application is not working well for you, you may consider trying a different one, such as Authy for desktop, which does not require the use of a mobile phone or QR code scanner.

(See the MFA help topicDDSP Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for resources)

https://jointcommission-ddsp.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/DCS/pages/24707087/Multi-Factor+Authentication+MFA

• The Signature Authority selects one of the onboarding emails they receive from the Joint Commission for their specific organization and login.

• Signature Authority creates their login and password prior to onboarding the first organization.

• After agreeing and accepting the required legal forms related to the DDSP for the selected organization, the Signature Authority should remain logged in. The purpose of remaining logged in is to simplify the process of onboarding the remaining organizations.

• The Signature Authority selects each onboarding email (one for each organization) and agrees and accepts the required legal forms for each organization.

• If the Signature Authority logs out of the DDSP, they are prompted to log back in using the login/password previously created when they begin onboarding their remaining organizations.

• Signature Authority that completed the onboarding process for other organizations may log in to additional facilities by using their existing login and password, then accept remaining platform invitations for their other facilities.

• Once onboarding of multiple organizations has been completed, the Signature Authority is able to navigate between these organizations to perform other activities without having to logout.

All DDSP Users will read and agree to a DDSP User Agreement.  This document defines the rules which users must agree to abide by to use the DDSP. This document is signed once by the user.

The Signature Authority for each organization will read and agree to an HCO Agreement on behalf of their organization.  The Signature Authority must be an organization representative who has signing authority on behalf of their organization(s) and is authorized to agree to and accept the required legal forms related to the DDSP.  The Signature Authority signing for multiple organizations must individually sign the HCO Agreement for each organization.

Organizations were provided with onboarding information to the new DDSP May 10, 2022. Once the person indicated as the Signature Authority accepts their platform invitation and initially accesses the new DDSP, they are responsible for inviting one or more additional users to manage platform functions.

Work with your ORYX contact or Quality Manager to determine who is on the platform and able to invite additional users, or contact hcooryx@jointcommission.org if you are uncertain who your organization’s internal contacts are.

Once an organization is “onboarded” they typically do not need to “onboard” again. Organization staff with Security Administrator access are able to invite additional users as needed.

Refer to question/answer 2.3 in2. General ORYX Information--Basics for information regarding when newly accredited organizations begin collecting/submitting data.

If your organization did not receive information to onboard or are a newly accredited facility, contact hcooryx@jointcommission.org and be certain to provide your HCO ID # in the subject line of your email.

• Educational resources are made available during the onboarding process.

• Once users are on the platform, they have access to additional resources from within the workspace, including “how to” videos, documentation, FAQs, and Troubleshooting tips to assist with answering common questions.

• Users will be able to open Support Tickets from within the Platform if they are unable to troubleshoot issue with the existing platform resources.

• The Joint Commission conducts "Office Hours" webinars regarding use of the Direct Data Submission Platform for submission of chart-abstracted and eCQMs. Content of these webinars will include tips for successful use of the DDSP and frequently asked questions. The office hours are staffed by The Joint Commission staff to answer questions for organization’s. The invitations to office hours will be sent to all platform users.

• The schedule of office hours and links to register can be found on the DDSP via the “Need Help?” icon.

MEASURE SELECTIONS

The Joint Commission has discontinued using an annual measure selection form. HCOs manage their measure selections directly for The Joint Commission within the DDSP.

Yes, organizations may collect data on both the corresponding chart-abstracted measure and eCQM. For example, you may report on both ED-2 and eED-2 or, if you provide Obstetrical Services, PC-01 and ePC-01.

Yes. Organizations manage the measures being submitted to The Joint Commission directly within the DDSP.

CHART ABSTRACTED: Organizations must select and provide data for the same chart abstracted measures for the entire calendar year.

eCQM: Organizations upload the eCQMs to the DDSP. Those required or electing to submit eCQMs must submit data per posted annual requirements for self-selected calendar quarters (the quarters do not need to be consecutive), and the same eCQMs must be submitted for all quarters.