MDS & iQIES

New Minimum Data Set (MDS) 3.0 Frequency Report Website

Effective August 21, 2023, MDS 3.0 Frequency data was available from a new location on the data.cms.gov website Minimum Data Set Frequency. This new website replaces the previous MDS 3.0 Frequency Report webpage which was decommissioned on August 1, 2023.

Similar information will be found on the new website that was provided on the historical MDS 3.0 Frequency Report webpage, including an overview of the data that are accessible from the website, explanatory text that identifies the methodology for calculation of those data, and the item response frequency data. Enhanced functionality on the new website allows users to view the Frequency data online, including filtering functionality of the data to meet the user’s needs. The new website allows users to download and save the Frequency data as Comma Separated Value (CSV) or CSV for Excel files by calendar quarter. The downloadable files contain MDS 3.0 Frequency data for all states and the Nation by the calendar quarter report period. Downloadable CSV files will be available for all calendar quarters beginning with Calendar Year (CY) 2020 (Q1, 2020) through Q2, 2023. As each new calendar quarter begins, data for the prior calendar quarter will be made available on the website (e.g., Q3, 2023 data will be available for download approximately mid-late October 2023).

The CSV files contain the following data elements:

• Geographical Location – This identifies the State or National location for which the MDS 3.0 Frequency data are reported.

• Report Date – This identifies the Calendar Quarter and Year for which the MDS 3.0 Frequency data are reported (e.g., Q1, 2022).

• MDS Item Question/Description – This identifies the item ID and section description as displayed on the MDS assessment instrument, followed by the item-specific description for which the data are reported (e.g., A0800: Identification Information – Gender).

• MDS Item Response – This contains item responses that correspond to the assessment item. Each response for an item is listed on a separate row so that counts and percentages are displayed for each response by geographic location.

• Percent – This contains the percent of responses for each item, geographical location, and reporting quarter.

• Total Residents – This identifies the number of times each response was answered for an item grouped at a state and national level for the reporting quarter.

With the migration to the new webpage, active MDS items for which the frequency counts are calculated for the report periods above are included in the CSV files and retired items have been removed.  As new items are added to the MDS assessment instrument, they will be included in the downloadable files if the item/response value are appropriate for the MDS 3.0 Frequency calculations.

iQIES Service Center 

If you have any questions regarding this information, please contact the QIES/iQIES Service Center by phone at (800) 339-9313 or send an email.