IRF-PAI VALIDATION UTILITY TOOL (for IRF-PAI ASSESSMENTS)

(Updated 07/05/2017)

The file SetupIRFPAIVUT.zip allows users to install Validation Utility Tool.

For assistance with this download, please contact the QTSO Help Desk using the following information:
 
E-Mail: help@qtso.com
Phone: (800)339-9313
Fax: (888)477-7871

The IRF-PAI Validation Utility Tool (VUT) is a software utility that can be used to validate IRF-PAI submission files in XML format.  The VUT attempts to enforce the edits that are mapped to the IRF-PAI items, as published in the IRF-PAI 1.1 Data Specifications.  The initial VUT release incorporated the V1.10.1 Specifications. The second VUT release incorporated the V1.11.0 specifications.  The third release incorporated the V1.12.0 specifications.  In addition, a new command-line parameter, NOSETUP, was added to allow users of listener mode to bypass the VUT UI screen (using the parameters established in VUT.XML).  The fourth release incorporates the V2.00.0 specifications.  The fifth release incorporates the V2.01.0 specifications.  This release also discontinues the ICD-9 and ICD-10 lookup functionality, per direction from CMS.  The VUT will, however, continue to validate ICDs for formatting.

INSTALLATION AND SETUP

To install the software, run SetupVUT.exe.  By default, the VUT will be installed to C:\Program Files\Validation Utility Tool.  A Validation Utility Group program group will be created under Start Menu->Programs, and a shortcut will be created for the Windows Desktop.

The VUT can be run in two different modes:  Listener and Command-Line.

LISTENER MODE

If no parameters are supplied to the VUT executable, the VUT operates in Listener mode.  In this mode, the VUT monitors the files available in a user-specified directory, detects if there are XML files to be validated, then processes them and writes the results to a user-specified output directory.  

After starting the VUT, a single screen is presented to the user, allowing the input and output directories to be specified.  In addition, the user can specify how long the VUT should sleep (i.e., wait) before checking the input directory for additional XML files to process.  This feature  can enhance the performance of the host PC, so that the VUT is not constantly processing.

Note that, by default, the input directory is a subdirectory "Assessments" under the VUT installation directory, and the output directory is a subdirectory "Results" under the VUT installation directory.  If these are the desired directories, then the user will need read/write permissions to these directories.

Also note that the results filename is the same name as the input filename, but with "_results" appended to the filename.  For example, if the VUT processes "test.xml", then the validation results are written to "test_results.xml"

After specifying the directories and the sleep time, press the Go! button to begin assessment processing.  Initially, the VUT needs to load the IRF-PAI specifications into memory for use in checking the assessments - this will take a few seconds, and a message indicating that the specifications are loading appears in the VUT screen status bar.  Then the VUT will search the input directory for XML files that do not already have a corresponding results XML file in the output directory. For example, if "test.xml" and "test2.xml" are present in the input directory, and "test_results.xml" is already present in the output directory, the VUT will process only "test2.xml" and produce a "test2_results.xml".

After processing the files in the input directory, the VUT will sleep in accordance with the amount of time specified on the VUT screen.  The user can see when the VUT will make its next check by seeing the scheduled time displayed in the VUT status bar.

The VUT can be stopped from further processing by clicking the Cancel button.  The VUT can be unloaded from memory by clicking the X button in the top right-hand corner.

NEW!!!  A new parameter, NOSETUP, was added to bypass the VUT screen for listener mode.  Launch the VUT using "IRFPAIVUT NOSETUP" and the VUT will use the parameters in VUT.XML.

COMMAND-LINE MODE

The VUT can also be used to process a single assessment XML file without remaining in memory.  Two parameters must be specified:  the path/filename of the input file and the path where the output file should be written.  For example, if a command line window is opened to the VUT installation directory, then executing the command

IRFPAIVUT C:\test.xml C:\temp

will write the results file "C:\temp\test_results.xml"

Note that in command-line mode, since the VUT does not stay in memory, it must load the IRF-PAI specifications into memory each time it is executed.  Therefore, it will be slower to generate the results file in comparison to listener mode.

The VUT no longer supports ICD-9 and ICD-10 lookup checking, per CMS direction.  For backward compatibility, the ICD9 command-line option is still allowed.  However, the ICD will not be checked.