Digital Debut

ASC-20 Deadline Less than Two Weeks Away

Submit 2022 second-quarter data by November 15 to avoid penalties

BY KARA NEWBURY | NOVEMBER 2022

The second data submission deadline for ASC-20: COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Among Health Care Personnel is Tuesday, November 15. This deadline is for submitting the data collected in the second quarter of 2022, April 1 through June 30. Facilities must select one week per month on which to report to meet the quarterly submission requirement. Submit your data via the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN).

The definition of “up to date” has been constantly changing. To keep up, here is what you need to know about this data submission period as well as those in the future.

Second Quarter of 2022

For much of the second quarter of 2022, the definition of “up to date” only included completion of an initial vaccination series. However, the CDC updated this guidance beginning the week of May 30, 2022, and running through the last week of the quarter, the week beginning June 26, 2022. For that period, basically the month of June, “up to date” refers to either 1) an individual who received all recommended doses in their primary vaccine series and received at least one booster dose, or 2) an individual who recently received all recommended doses in the primary vaccine series but is not yet eligible for a booster dose. This data must be reported by Tuesday, November 15.

Third Quarter of 2022

The CDC then changed the definition of “up to date” again for the NHSN surveillance period of June 27, 2022–September 25, 2022, the third quarter of 2022. For those under 50 years of age, “up to date” means those who 1) received at least one booster dose or 2) recently received all recommended doses in the primary vaccine series and are not yet eligible for a booster dose. For those individuals 50 years and older, “up to date” means those who 1) received a second booster dose (or received a first booster dose less than four months ago and are not yet eligible for a second booster dose) or 2) recently received all recommended doses in the primary vaccine series but are not yet eligible for a booster dose.

This data is required to be reported by February 15, 2023. If you like to use the Data Tracking Worksheet for COVID-19 Vaccination among Healthcare Personnel [XLS – 8 MB] available from the CDC, this version was updated on July 8 and should be used to collect third-quarter 2022 data.

Fourth Quarter of 2022

In October, the CDC announced once again that the definition of “up to date” had changed. Individuals are considered “up to date” with their COVID-19 vaccines during the NHSN surveillance period of September 26, 2022–December 25, 2022, if they have received an updated (bivalent) booster dose or if they received their last monovalent booster dose less than two months ago, or if they completed their primary series less than two months ago. The CDC has not provided a data tracking worksheet for this timeframe yet but has indicated it will be available soon. The deadline for reporting fourth-quarter 2022 data is May 15, 2023.

Review the CDC’s resource on Understanding Key Terms and Up to Date Vaccination for more information on terminology the CDC is using, including the various iterations of “up to date.”

Check Your Facility’s Data Submission Status

The Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality Reporting (ASCQR) Program provides a Web-Based Measure Status Listing that allows facilities to check their data submission status for web-based measures in the program. Enter your ASC’s national provider identifier or CMS certification number in the ASC Facility and CCN Lookup section to see your facility’s submission status. Currently, this page is being updated monthly only, so if you just submitted your data, it might not yet be displayed there.

Extraordinary Circumstances Exceptions

If your facility was unable to submit required information by the first reporting deadline of August 15 due to an extraordinary circumstance, your ASC may request an exception. To request an exception, submit a completed Extraordinary Circumstances Exceptions form with any required information and supporting documentation within 90 calendar days of the missed deadline. These documents must be submitted to the ASC Support Contractor via one of the following:

the Hospital Quality Reporting Secure Portal, Managed File Transfer (MFT) to QRFormsSubmission@hsag.com (opens in new browser tab). Note: When sending via MFT, uncheck “Require Registered Users.”
email directly to: QRFormsSubmission@hsag.com
secure fax to: 877.789.4443

How to Report ASC-20 Accurately provides more information on NHSN enrollment and data submission. In addition, the CDC has made available the following resources:

Write Kara Newbury with any questions.