Surveyor Technical Assistant for Reporting Project (STAR)
The mission of the Survey and Certification End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Program at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is to ensure dialysis centers compliance to Federal regulations, thereby ensuring and improving the health and safety of the ESRD beneficiaries. The Surveyor Technical Assistant for Renal Disease (STAR) advances this mission by improving the efficiency, accuracy, completeness, and consistency of the survey process. STAR is a software application created to automate the survey and certification process performed at ESRD facilities.
STAR provides surveyors with a detailed survey protocol that can be used to conduct initial, recertification, complaint and follow-up surveys of ESRD facilities. It provides surveyors with specific questions that should be answered during the survey process and corresponding Conditions for Coverage (CfC) for each question. By using STAR, the quality and consistency of the ESRD survey and certification process will be improved across surveyors and states.
CMS has contracted with UM-KECC to provide support for the transition to STAR. This includes support for software development, software testing, training material development, classroom training, data maintenance, reporting and data analysis, and project management. UM-KECC works closely with CMS staff, other CMS contractors, and the state survey agencies for this project.