​The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in conjunction with their contractor, Iowa Foundation for Medicare (IFMC), will be replacing the MDS/OASIS state server on June 15, 2006 through June 16, 2006. Installation of new state server will improve response times, and increase the storage capacity for patient assessment data.

Server replacement will cause a temporary disruption to facilities and agencies, as they will not be able to establish connectivity to the server and therefore will not be able to transmit MDS/OASIS patient assessment data. It is recommended that ALL locked assessments, regardless of the lock date, be transmitted to the MDS/OASIS state server no later than June 12, 2006. We anticipate that facilities and agencies will be able to resume transmitting MDS/OASIS data by June 19, 2006. If you experience any problems submitting or retrieving reports after this date, please contact the MDS/OASIS Help Desk at (916) 324-2362.

This is also a good opportunity to remind everyone that systems security is an important component for every health care facility. Please refer to the enclosed fact sheet for information on developing a Data Disaster Recovery Plan.

We apologize for this inconvenience, and thank you for your cooperation and patience. If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact the MDS/OASIS Help Desk at (916) 324-2362.

Sincerely,

Original Signed by Brenda G. Klutz

Brenda G. Klutz
Deputy Director

Attachment: MDS/OASIS Systems Security