The Joint Commission

eCQM Upload Data & Purge Data

Owned by Kelly C
Last updated: Aug 27, 2024 by Julia Dawson
6 min read

Short Demo for Upload Data and Upload Summary in the DDSP (duration: 11:00 minutes) click the link or copy/paste the following text in your web browser.
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/4627810785364501764

Purpose: 

When selecting 'Upload Data' from the menu, the 'Upload Data' and the 'Upload Summary' pages become available.

The ‘Upload Data’ page automatically opens and provides users that have been granted permission to 'Upload and Submit' data the ability to:

  • Upload individual QRDA I files or upload zip files containing QRDA I documents for processing

  • Set Notifications for when your files have been fully processed by the Platform

  • Purge (delete) all QRDA I documents that have been previously uploaded

Also see the additional information for uploading QRDA I documents at the bottom of this documentation.

Note:

  • Users with access to multiple Hospitals should always check the Header of the page to ensure they are “active” for the desired hospital.  If the correct hospital is not “active”, click on the “Switch” button in the Header and choose the appropriate hospital.  The 'Switch' button is available from all pages within the DDS Platform. Refer to Multi-HCO Batch Upload for more information.

  • If you believe you should be able to upload data for a hospital, contact an individual with Invite and Manage User permission for the hospital, as only they may modify your Workspace permission. To be able to Upload eCQM data, you need your ‘eCQM Upload & Submit Data’ permission to be ‘Full Access’.

Production vs Trial Data:

The DDS Platform does not utilize the concept of separate Production and Trial data upload.  Rather, when a hospital uploads their data onto the DDS Platform, the data are loaded into the hospital's individual Workspace.  Users then have the ability to evaluate the completeness and accuracy of the data prior to submitting it to The Joint Commission.

Once a hospital is satisfied that the data within their Workspace is ready to be submitted as Production data to The Joint Commission, the hospital will continue to the Submit Data page.

How to Use:

Upload Data:

If the individual QRDA I files and zip file or zip file(s) you will be uploading are not in an accessible directory, copy them to a directory you can access via your browser.

  1. Click ‘Select File’, browse to the location of the  file(s), and choose a file to upload

  2. Confirm you have chosen the correct  file and click ‘Upload’.

  3. Once fully uploaded, click on the 'View Details' link to open the ‘Upload Details’ page.  This page provides high-level processing information.

    1. The ‘Errors’ column displays the description of errors that occurred for a given file during upload.

      1. The color of the 'View Details” link provides information concerning how the files processed.

        This image shows that if the upload was successful without preprocessing errors, the background of 'View Details' is green. If the Upload was rejected due to batch level errors, then the background of 'View Details' is brown. If the upload processed with at least one file with preprocessing errors, then the background of 'View Details' is yellow

    2. If more than one file was contained within the zip file, scroll down the ‘Upload Details’ page to ensure you see all files and possible errors displayed.

  4. Continue with steps 1 through 3 until all files have been uploaded.

The act of uploading data to the DDS Platform does not submit the data to The Joint Commission.  Once the files have been uploaded and processed, you are encouraged to utilize the additional portions of the DDS Platform to:

  • determine if your QRDA I documents generated Schematron and/or Edit errors or warnings by using the Data Accuracy page.

  • review how the QRDA I documents were evaluated by each of the eCQMs on the Quality Improvement page.

  • Once satisfied that all data has been uploaded and it is as complete and accurate as possible, continue to the Submit Data page to submit your hospital's data to The Joint Commission.

Tips:

  • The Upload Data page contains the list of all individual QRDA I files and zip file(s)  that have been uploaded (and not purged) to the hospital's Workspace.  If necessary, click on the 'Load Older Uploads' link on the bottom left-hand side of the list of  files to expand the view to see older files.

  • The 'Upload Contents' column provides a status of the transfer of the file from your computer to the DDS Platform.

  • Transferring or uploading your file from your computer is the first step the DDS Platform performs when processing your files.  After this step has completed, the QRDA I documents are then processed against the edits, schematron rules, and eCQM logic.  Both the edits and schematron rules can cause documents to be rejected.  Go to the Data Accuracy page to review what, if any, errors (causing a rejection) or warnings were generated for each document.  The Quality Improvement page can be used to evaluate how QRDA I documents were processed against the eCQMs.

eCQM Notifications:

To set eCQM Notifications for when your files have been fully processed by the Platform, perform the following steps:

  1. Select 'eCQM Notifications' from the left-hand menu under 'User Settings'.

  2. Click the checkbox next to ‘Email Notification (Receive an email at your email address)’.

  3. Click 'Save'.

Purge (Delete) Data:

Warning:  The act of purging (deleting) data from a hospital's Workspace is permanent.  The Joint Commission  is unable to restore deleted data.  If data is accidentally deleted, the hospital will have to re-upload their data.

If you want to purge (delete) your data, follow the below steps:

  1. Click on the 'Purge Data' button at the top right-hand side of the list of files.

  2. Select ‘Purge All’ or ‘Purge Selected’ option in the ‘Purge Data’ dialog displayed. Click on ‘Ok’.

  3. If ‘Purge Selected’ option is chosen, then the ‘Recent Uploads’ table is updated to include a checkbox next to each of the uploads. Select 1 or more checkbox next to the uploaded files or zips you are looking to purge. Click on “Purge” button on the top right-hand side of the list of files. Confirm that you want to purge selected uploaded data by clicking on ‘Confirm’, otherwise click ‘Cancel’.

  4. If ‘Purge All’ option is chosen, Confirm that you want to purge all data from the hospital's Workspace by clicking 'Confirm', otherwise click 'Cancel'.

  5. Wait until the Platform shows all of your files have been deleted (files will no longer appear on the 'Upload Data' page) before you re-upload any files.

Important Information for Uploading QRDA I Documents

  • The DDS Platform maps the hospital’s CCN which is contained within the QRDA I document to the hospital’s Joint Commission’s HCO ID.

  • Both individual QRDA I documents and zip files may be uploaded.

Zip files

  • Zip files when uncompressed must be <=2 GB

    • The zip file should not contain directories or other zip files. 

      • All QRDA I documents must be contained at the root level of the zip file.

    • The zip file cannot be password protected or encrypted.

    • Each zip file may contain 1 to 15,000 QRDA I documents.

QRDA I Documents

  • Upload all QRDA I documents which meet the Initial Population criteria for at least one eCQM being reported to The Joint Commission.

  • Include all QRDA I documents, even those you suspect will be rejected.

    • Uploading all documents will assist Joint Commission DDS staff in better understanding the QRDA I issues that are occurring in the field.

  • Each QRDA I document contains quality data for one patient, for all encounters that occurred during the calendar quarter being reported, for all eCQMs being submitted for the patient.

  • When re-uploading a patient's QRDA I document, the new file must be cumulative and contain all the patient data for the same reporting period, not just the corrected or new data.

    • This is true for both aligned eCQMs and Joint Commission only eCQMs. Based on HL7 standards, CMS should be able to accept a file containing data for Joint Commission only eCQMs.

  • QRDA I documents containing the same Key information of previously uploaded documents will replace the existing QRDA I documents. The Key information is:

    • Patient ID (in the PatientRole element)

    • QRDA I CMS Program Name

    • HCO ID

    • Quarter (in the effective date in the Reporting Parameters section)

  • The last QRDA I document processed with the same Key information will become the Active Document within the Platform.

    • Do not split a patient's data into multiple QRDA I documents (e.g., ED and Stroke data) as the last QRDA I document processed for the patient will be the Active Document, which will affect your hospital's measure rates.

  • If a patient is being reported for multiple calendar quarters, separate QRDA I documents must be submitted, one for each quarter.

    • The separate QRDA I documents may be contained within the same Zip.

  • A single QRDA I document must be <=10 MB (please let us know if this is truly an issue for a single patient's data for one quarter!)

  • At this time, The Joint Commission is only able to receive QRDA I documents formatted to meet CMS' CY 2024 eCQM Version and Standards Alignment.

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