Responsibilities of Sponsors, Vendors, and Consultants

Planning and project design

• Designate a project director.
• Define the project goals.
• Issue the request for proposal (RFP) and select a vendor.
• Develop reporting strategy.
• Plan evaluation of project.
• Appoint advisory committee (optional).

• Provide guidance on defining project audiences, reporting audiences, and how the CAHPS project can fit into your overall organization goals.
• You could choose to hire multiple consultants for different aspects of the project or you may hire one consultant who has expertise in all aspects of your project.
• Depending on the scope of your project, the consultant may participate only in the planning phase or may participate over the entire project period.

Project management

• Designate a project manager who will manage the day-to-day operations and will be the key contact for all the other team members, vendors, and health plans.

• Designate a primary contact person to work with the sponsor.
• Monitor timeline of deliverables and activities presented in the RFP.

Planning the reports process

• Develop the communication strategy and make preliminary decisions about the content, audiences and distribution of consumer reports.

• Help with report prototype design and other technical issues, such as layout, use of graphics, and testing with consumers and other audiences.

Sampling

• Determine the groups of individuals to be surveyed.
• Assemble sample frame and provide it to the vendor.

• Prepare a sampling plan for discussion with the sponsor.
• Incorporate sponsor/consultant revisions into the plan.
• Clean and prepare sample and review for accuracy, check and correct bad addresses, and obtain missing phone numbers.

• Help the sponsor and vendor develop survey sampling specifications. (You will need a statistical consultant if you or the vendor does not have a sampling statistician.)

Questionnaire preparation

• Select CAHPS questionnaires.
• Consider whether to all supplemental items.

• Prepare questionnaires for mail and/or telephone administration.
• Prepare survey letters for mailing.
• Set up system for tracking the returned questionnaires and/or completed telephone interviews.

• Advise sponsor about all items.
• Develop and test new items.

Data collection

• Monitor the survey field period to ensure vendor adherence to quality standards.
• Review and resolve problems in consultation with vendor.

• Prepare training materials for telephone data collection.
• Administer questionnaires by mail or telephone.
• Monitor returned questionnaires and/or telephone interviews.
• Submit weekly reports to sponsor detailing survey progress and response rates.
• Inform sponsor of unanticipated problems and questions related to survey content and data collection.

Data preparation and analysis

• Monitor data preparation and analysis.

• Clean data file.
• Calculate response rates.
• Review analysis program instructions.
• Modify program, as needed.
• Run, test, modify, and rerun program.
• Thoroughly check results.

• Review CAHPS instructions and computer program for analysis.
• Assist the vendor in using program and checking results.

Report preparation and distribution

• Customize report text and template design.
• Monitor report preparation and production.
• Provide specifications and additional information to be included in reports.
• Supply additional display information (e.g., benefits).

(NOTE: The vendor for this task may be the vendor who conducted your survey or may be a different vendor.)

• Prepare CAHPS consumer reports or supply results to vendor preparing reports.
• Thoroughly check all information in reports for accuracy.

• Assist in interpreting survey results and incorporating them into reports for consumers and other audiences.
• Provide guidance on layout, graphics, and design.