Sep 24, 2025
To: Hospice Providers, Hospice Vendors
The Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (QIES) is being upgraded to make the system more reliable, scalable, secure, and accessible. The enhanced system, referred to as the internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES), aims to reduce provider burden and enhance the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS’s) ability to serve our customers. CMS is excited to announce that the Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) assessment submission and reporting functionality will be launched within iQIES on October 1, 2025.
iQIES is a cloud-based, internet facing application that will require a new user management system because the CMS Virtual Private Network (VPN) and the CMS Network (CMSNet) are not needed to access the iQIES system. All users will have to create an account and establish credentials in the Health Care Quality Information Systems (HCQIS) Access Roles and Profile system (HARP), which is a secure identity management portal provided by CMS.
Register for iQIES Access
To receive access to iQIES, please complete the following steps below.
***IMPORTANT: If your organization has not yet identified and registered a Provider Security Official (PSO), you will not be able to complete a user role request. At a minimum, at least one PSO needs to be registered for each provider, but CMS highly recommends at least two PSOs are designated so there is a higher likelihood someone will be available to approve/reject iQIES access requests for your provider. The PSO must work for the provider and cannot be a vendor.***
- Create an account in the HARP system using your corporate email address* at: https://harp.cms.gov/register. Note: HARP User IDs cannot be modified once they are established. As such, please refrain from using facility names or any special characters (such as #, !, or &) when creating your HARP User ID. *If the facility handles 2 or fewer providers and does not have a corporate email domain, a personal email address may be used.
- Access iQIES at: https://iqies.cms.gov/ and log in with your HARP credentials (completed in step 1) to complete the process to request your user role for your specific provider’s CMS Certification Number (CCN).
- Once the user role request has been submitted AND approved by the PSO, you will receive notification via email informing you that your iQIES account access request has been approved.
Resources
For more information on HARP or iQIES, please refer to the following resources:
HARP
- Fact sheet on HARP Identity Proofing: https://qtso.cms.gov/news-and-updates/remote-identify-proofing-requirements-internet-quality-improvement-evaluation
- FAQs related to HARP: https://harp.cms.gov/login/help
iQIES
- iQIES Getting Started Overview: https://iqies.cms.gov/iqies/help
- iQIES User Role Matrix: https://qtso.cms.gov/software/iqies/reference-manuals
- iQIES Security Official: Manage Access Job Aid: https://qtso.cms.gov/software/iqies/reference-manuals
- iQIES Quick Reference Guide – Provider Security Official: https://qtso.cms.gov/software/iqies/reference-manuals
For HARP account or role assistance, please contact the iQIES Service Center by phone at (800) 339-9313. Please note: Due to privacy regulations, we are unable to assist with HARP account issues via email or web at this time.
If you have iQIES questions, please contact the iQIES Service Center at iqies@cms.hhs.gov or by phone at (800) 339-9313. Call volume may be higher than normal during this time, impacting wait times.
To create a new ticket online, track an existing ticket, or recover your HARP password account, please use the CCSQ Support Central: Self-Service Portal.