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Frequently Asked Questions

HARP Registration

If you can’t complete remote proofing, you’ll need to email the QSEP Help Desk or call the IAM Help Desk at 1-866-288-8912 between 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM CT Monday – Friday to start the manual proofing process.
Users who need access to both QSEP and iQIES only have to create 1 HARP account.
CMS uses the HARP system for identity verification, authentication, and role management for its web-based information systems, including the Quality, Safety & Education Portal (QSEP) and Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES). The goal is to increase security for CMS data and user privacy.
Watch these videos that will help you understand the HARP registration process.
Yes. Select here to watch short videos explaining how to register for a HARP account and set up two-factor authentication.
No Documentations are needed for remote proofing, but you’ll need information related to your credit report.
While creating your HARP account, select the same state as your home address. The state in HARP (your home address) can be different from your state in QSEP (your State Agency).
If you don’t want to give your SSN, you can choose manual proofing, where documentations are needed to verify your identity. The last 4 digits of your SSN may be needed for manual proofing, which may make it take longer to get access to the system.
No. You must create a HARP account to log into the QSEP as a Federal or State contract surveyor or employee.
No. You must create a HARP account to log into the QSEP as a Federal or State employee.

QSEP Role Request

Under "Name" in the QSEP menu bar, select ‘My Profile,’ the My User Role section will list your current and pending roles.
Go to https://qsep.cms.gov and select “Sign Up” from the home page. Select "CMS & State Agencies" from the pop-up window that appears. From there, follow the prompts on the screen to create your HARP account. Once the HARP account is created, you can log into the QSEP with your HARP credentials to request access.

Credit for Training

No, you’ll need to add the Training Plan to My Training, then go back through the materials and complete all tests and evaluations required to show completion.
No. QSEP gives the general public access to all training material and courses certified CMS surveyors use. All training materials and courses are available on QSEP's Training Catalog web page. There’s no need to create an account to browse content, but certificates of completion aren’t provided to the general public and course progress isn’t tracked.

Certification

No. Certification is only for CMS employees, contractors, registered providers, and other learners.
Once uploaded, you’ll see a confirmation on your screen, and the training will show as complete on your Training Plan.

View Training Status

Your progress won't be tracked if the system times out while accessing a training. Please contact the QSEP Help Desk for help.
Yes. If you refresh the "parent" page for the training, it will show that you have credit for that training.
The "My Training" page needs to be refreshed each time you progress through any training.

My Dashboard

To mark a message as read, select the checkbox beside the message in the first column on the My Dashboard page. As soon as the checkbox is selected, the message is marked as read and will be available in ‘Show All’ or ‘Show Read’ filters.

Proxies

Depending on the role, you might see it in the "Admin" and "Reports" tabs. Otherwise, click on Reports and select the "Find by Learner" Report. The location column should list all states (Your own & proxy). Select Ascending/Descending on the ‘Location’ column or select different pages to see All the Agencies assigned to you.

Profile

State, Federal, and contract surveyors will be prompted to update their Employment and Provider/Survey Types each year by email. Once you log into QSEP, you’ll be redirected to the User Profile page to make the necessary updates.

Transfers

The STC won’t be able to access the learner’s profile. To gain access to the profile, the STC or learner must contact the help desk to have the agency information updated.
No, surveyors must contact the QSEP Help Desk to change their domain to the new State Agency.

My Training

Search Training

The search is designed to display the first Training name which contains the entered text: e.g., Entering text "Long Term Care" will first return training named: "BHFS—Basic Health Facility Surveyor—Introduction to Surveying for Long Term Care (includes Resident Assessment Instrument Minimum Data Set 3.0)"

Transcript and Certificates

Go to the My Training Page and select the "Print My Transcript" button. It’ll open the "Training Completion Transcript" page, where you select the "Print Page" button.
From the "My Training" Page, select the certificate button to view, download, or print your certificate of completion.

Tests and Evaluation

Go to your "My Training" page and select the "Launch" button to open the Training Menu. Select the "pre-test" link to access your pre-test.
Go to your "My Training" page and select the "Launch" button to open the Training Menu. Select the "Training Evaluation" link to access the training evaluation

Training Audio/Video Issues

Be sure you’re using the latest version of Google Chrome. JavaScript must be enabled to view content. Your IT department should be able to help, but if this doesn’t resolve the issue, please contact the QSEP Help Desk.

Prerequisites

Upload a copy of your Fire Inspector One Certification (NFPA Issued) to your LSC-FSES HCO or RBCO Training Plan.

CEUs

If CEUs are offered for a course, they’ll be listed on the Training Plan.

Reports (Sorting Data)

Select the light gray up-down arrows to the far right of a column header within the "Preview Results" pane.

Becoming a Surveyor

Contact your State Health Department to apply as a surveyor. Once you’re hired, the State will start your training and certification.

Hand in Hand Training

The Hand in Hand ISO files have to be copied onto blank DVDs as disk images and played with a DVD player. Some applications let you play ISO files on your computer, like PowerISO.

Security Official

If the agency doesn’t have a security official, new QSEP role requests won’t be approved. Users requesting a QSEP role in that agency must contact the QSEP Help Desk

PROVIDERS and Other Learners

Please search for your facility using only the CCN number, leaving all other fields blank. If you don’t know the CCN number, search using the facility zip code, leaving the other fields blank. You should get a list of all the facilities in your zip code, where you can find your facility.
If you’re using an iPad or iOS device like an iPhone, please download the Google Chrome browser for free in the app store. This issue is related to the Safari web browser on iOS devices. If you aren’t using an iOS device, please zoom your browser out to 80% since this issue is related to your PC’s resolution not showing the entire page.
Go to https://qsep.cms.gov, select “Sign Up” and select “Providers and Other Learners” from the pop-up window. Then, follow the prompts on the screen to create your account. Once you’ve made an account, you’ll get a confirmation email. After you confirm the account, you can access training in QSEP.
Ask your supervisor which training you’re required to take. The training catalog lists all the training we offer, but doesn’t necessarily show the training you’re required to take.
Once you’ve finished your pre-test, post-test, and evaluation, you can print your completion certificate from the training catalog page. In the same place where you launched the training, there’s a certificate button next to the training in the training catalog list.
Log out and then back in again to see if the issue is resolved. If the post-test still isn’t available, then it’s likely 1 of the previous requirements, like the pre-test, isn’t complete. Once all the previous requirements are complete, the post-test should be available.
The system won’t let you use the same email address to create more than 1 account. You might also get this error message if you’ve made an account but haven’t confirmed it yet from the confirmation email. Please check your spam or junk mail folder to see if the confirmation email was sent there. If not, and you still don’t have the confirmation email, contact the QSEP Help Desk to have your account activated manually.
This error occurs when:
• There’s no account in the system associated with your email address.
• You’ve made an account but haven’t confirmed it from the confirmation email.
Please check your spam or junk mail folder to see if the confirmation email was sent there.
If not, and you still don’t have the confirmation email, contact the QSEP Help Desk to have your account activated manually.
The system won’t let you use the same email address to create more than 1 account. You might also get this error message if you’ve made an account but haven’t confirmed it yet from the confirmation email. Please check your spam or junk mail folder to see if the confirmation email was sent there. If not, and you still don’t have the confirmation email, contact the QSEP Help Desk to have your account activated manually.
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