DOH Revises HERDS Reporting for Licensed Home Care Services Agencies
(June 9, 2025) The Department of Health (DOH) issued a Dear Administrator Letter (DAL), DHCBS 25-09, on June 5th to provide a revision to Licensed Home Care Services Agencies’ (LHCSAs) weekly Health Electronic Response Data System (HERDS) data reporting.
The Department is requiring a change in the data collected and a change to the LHCSA weekly HERDS reporting cycle that will remain in effect until further notice.
Effective June 17th, LHCSA providers will have three days to complete and submit the survey to comply with the existing reporting requirement. The reporting cycle for all LHCSA providers will begin on Tuesdays at 8 a.m. and close on Thursdays at 2 p.m. In addition, a new two-part question has been added to collect the provider’s patient census by county per the LHCSA’s Department-issued license.
Please note: one significant change in the reporting is that Assisted Living Program (ALP) LHCSAs that only serve their residents will now have to complete this report. Currently, they are not required to do so. Going forward, all ALP LHCSAs are required to complete the LHCSA HERDS survey.
DOH shared that the LHCSA HERDS report name will change and that it will share this information in a forthcoming Integrated Health Alerting and Notification System (IHANS) message.
The new LHCSA reporting item will include reporting patient counts by county, not a total per agency. There will be a drop-down menu to choose the counties agencies are licensed to serve, and each one must be reported, even if the patient total is zero. The drop-down box does not auto-populate with each agency's counties. Please check your Certificate of Need (CON) to be sure you are reporting for all counties listed on your license. Reporting will continue weekly, and this change is not pertinent to Certified Home Health Agency (CHHA) and hospice HERDS reporting.
The timeframe for reporting is extended from Tuesday through Thursday, but agencies must report at one point in time during that period and not update if patient counts change.
DOH held a short 30-minute training webinar to introduce the updated reporting requirement on June 10th. The recording is available here.
If you have any questions, please write to hcstatrpts@health.ny.gov.
Register Now: June 17th Home Care Lunch and Learn for LHCSAs, CHHAs, and Hospice
On June 17th, the DOH Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Division of Quality and Surveillance will host a Lunch and Learn Series and answer Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for LHCSAs, CHHAs, and hospice providers.
Date: June 17, 2025
Time: 1-2 p.m.
Audience: LHCSAs, CHHAs, Hospices, Home Care Associations
Presenters: Lori Novak, Capital District Regional Manager
Please send all questions you wish to have addressed and answered in advance of the webinar to homecare@health.ny.gov.
Providers can pre-register here.
Contact: Meg Everett, meverett@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8871