Change Vendor

Changing vendors: what’s the impact on your data?

Here are some important items to consider if you choose to change software vendors:

  • interRAI reporting systems are longitudinal databases.
  • Unique identifiers must remain the same. Data that does not match the values previously submitted to CIHI will cause records to be rejected. Examples of unique identifiers include
    • Person identifiers (Health Card Number, Chart Number, Birthdate)
    • Record identifiers (Unique Record ID Number, Assessment Type)
  • Start planning for the change early.
  • Time the changeover in vendor software to happen outside of the data submission deadlines. This will ease stress if there are errors and will limit the impact on reporting.
  • Work with both your current and new vendors to ensure that all person and record identifiers (as noted above) are retained and correctly populated in the new vendor software.
  • Establish effective dates for the vendor software changeover and when data submissions will use only the new vendor software.

If you are planning to change vendors or have any questions related to the impact on data submission, please contact CIHI at help@cihi.ca

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