CMS will be migrating MDS submission and reporting to the internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES) in early 2023. The iQIES portal is available at https://iqies.cms.gov/ and will soon be the new interface for MDS submission and reporting, replacing the current Assessment Submission and Processing (ASAP) and the Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reports (CASPER) systems.
This change will require providers to create both an iQIES and HCQIS Access, Roles, and Profile system (HARP) account. Only individuals (not entities) can create a HARP account, and once completed can initiate an iQIES account and be assigned a user role. The CMS iQIES Onboarding Guide can be found here.
All staff with CMS credentials will need to create new accounts and roles will need to be defined as below. Of note, a Security Official will need to be identified by each provider and approved by CMS. This person will be responsible for approving all iQIES users for the individual provider organization, including vendors that may be accessing iQIES on behalf of the provider. There are no specific qualifications required of the Security Official, but the responsible party will need to be familiar with staff to appropriately assign roles.
CMS
CMS will contact provider organizations to begin the transition. The roll-out for SNF/NFs will begin this month and take place by region:
| Region 1 | Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont | August 15 |
| Region 2 | New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands | August 15 |
| Region 3 | Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia | August 29 |
| Region 4 | Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee | September 12 |
| Region 5 | Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin | October 17 |
| Region 6 | Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas | September 26 |
| Region 7 | Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska | October 31 |
| Region 8 | Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming | October 31 |
| Region 9 | Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Pacific Territories | August 29 |
| Region 10 | Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington | August 29 |
Facilities should begin planning for who their Security Officer will be as well as taking inventory of who else will need a new or revised role. CMS expects to complete initial contacts for Security Officials by the end of October and begin general onboarding communication by mid-November.
