As the owners of their value sets, VSAC authors and stewards can view, update, and change the review status of value set definitions, and view how often these changes occur. This information helps authors to decide if they want to create a new value set or to use an existing value set.

As consumers of value set contents, VSAC users can view the status of value set expansions. The expansion status helps VSAC users decide whether a value set will meet their needs.

Value set authors and stewards can view the review status of a value set definition from the Authoring tab. Authors and stewards maintain this review status.

All VSAC users can view the status of a value set expansion from the Search Value Sets tab. VSAC assigns this status based upon the review status of the definition used for the expansion, and the program release that includes the value set (if applicable).

There are five allowed values for the review status of a definition and the status of an expansion.

1. Active: Use this version in production systems. The value set author and steward maintain this version. Additional details:
   • The definition version has at least one published (or latest) expansion.
   • There is only one active definition version. All expansions based on it are active and available for use.
2. Not Maintained: This is a previously published version meant for use in production systems at the time of its publication. Either the author or steward marks the value set as Not Maintained, or VSAC automatically marks the value set as Not Maintained because there is no record of author or steward review for the past seventeen months. Note: VSAC will send annual value set maintenance notifications when value set owners do not perform any maintenance within the past year.
   • When a new definition version is published, the review status of the previous definition version changes to “Not Maintained.”
3. Deprecated: This is a previously published version meant for use in production systems at the time of its publication. The author or steward determined that this version is no longer appropriate for use in production systems, or a new version superseded it.
   • If the review status of the latest definition version changes to “Deprecated,” the review status of all previous definition versions will change to “Deprecated.” Exception: Versions previous marked as “Retired” will maintain that status.
4. Retired: This is a previously published version that VSAC users rarely used. This status also applies to all older versions.
   • If the review status of the latest definition version changes to “Retired”, the review status of all previous definition versions will change to “Retired."
5. Experimental: Do not use this version in production systems. The value set author created this version for review, experimental testing, or pilot testing only.
   • Authors can update the definition review status to Not Maintained, Deprecated, or Retired.

Note that the review status for a grouping value set is independent of the review status of its member value sets.

Search Value Sets

Value set search results include an “Expansion Status” column. This column indicates the status of the value set expansion.

Click on an OID in the search results to view the value set details. The value set details show the status in the Expansion Details box.

Authoring

Value Set Review Status and Maintenance History (available for authors and stewards only)

The “Review/Maintenance” tab in Authoring allows authors and stewards to see the status of a value set definition and its maintenance history.

The tab includes the following information:

1. Last Reviewed: Indicates the last date on which the author or steward reviewed the value set metadata, definition, or expansion and determined no updates or changes were necessary. It will show the date of the last VSAC annual maintenance review, which determines whether VSAC will send the maintenance notification email to the author and steward.
2. Last Reviewed By: Indicates the author or steward who last reviewed the value set metadata, definition, or expansion.
3. Value Set Definition Review Status table: Indicates the review status for published value set definition versions. Remember that there are five allowed values for Value Set Definition Review Status (Active, Not Maintained, Deprecated, Retired, and Experimental).
4. Value Set Review/Maintenance History table: Shows the history of changes made to the value set.

My Value Set Review Status on Authoring main page (available for authors and stewards only)

The Authoring page in VSAC includes the My Value Set Review Status section. This section includes a table that lists all of your value sets, their review status, and their last reviewed date. The “Review Status” column indicates the status of the latest value set definition. The table is sorted by the latest last reviewed date. Note that you can export the results of this table.

My Value Set Review Status table

See your value set definitions that need review

The My Value Set Review Status table includes a “Due for Review” filter. Use this filter to see the list of your value set definitions that require review.

Your value set definitions will appear in this list if you did not review the latest published definitions (Mark as Reviewed) or publish new definition versions during the past year.

How to use the “Due for Review” filter

1. Go to the Authoring tab.
2. Go to My Value Review Status.
3. For Program:  Select “All” or another filter such as “CMS eCQM and Hybrid Measure.”
4. Select the “Due for Review ” checkbox.
5. The value set definitions that need your review will appear.
6. You may export this list of value set definitions by selecting the “Export Search Results” button.

Note: When VSAC launched the Review and Maintenance feature, it flagged the latest definition of all value sets as “Active” on December 15, 2022. Authors and stewards will receive review reminders starting in January 2024. They have until May 2024 to review their value set definitions (click “Mark as Reviewed” or publish a new definition version). If they do not review their value set definitions, then VSAC will change the review status from “Active” to “Not Maintained” in June 2024.

The one-year clock restarts when an author or steward reviews a value set definition. For example, if an author updates their value set definition (or Marks as Reviewed) on April 1, 2023, the one-year review clock restarts and the value set definition will be due for review on April 1, 2024. After several monthly reminders, VSAC will change the review status to “Not Maintained” if there are no updates or review by September 2024. The status change will occur in October 2024.

In the case of eCQM value sets, their definitions will need to be reviewed on an annual basis, but their published expansions will always remain “Active.”

How to review a value set (available for authors and stewards only)

Note that authors and stewards cannot edit the status of a draft value set definition.

Mark as Reviewed

1. Open the value set in Authoring.
2. Go to the Definition tab and make any necessary changes by clicking the New Version button.
3. Click the “Mark as Reviewed” button if no changes are needed.
4. If you clicked “Mark as Reviewed,” click Submit to confirm that you reviewed the value set and that no changes are required.

How to review multiple value sets at once

Use this option to mark multiple value sets as reviewed.

1. Go to the Authoring tab.
2. Go to My Value Review Status.
3. For Program:  Select “All” or another filter such as “CMS eCQM and Hybrid Measure.”
4. Select the “Due for Review ” checkbox.
5. Select the checkboxes next to the value sets that you want to mark as Reviewed. To select all value sets on this page, click the checkbox to the left of the Name column. Note: Only value sets with Active or Experimental review status are eligible for review. You will see inactive checkboxes next to value sets with Not Maintained, Deprecated, or Retired review statuses.
6. Click the “Mark as Reviewed” button.
7. Click Submit to confirm that you reviewed the selected value sets and that no changes are required.

Hint: To select more than 20 value sets at once, increase the paging in the table. The paging options are 20, 40, 60, and 120.

Selecting multiple value sets for review

Selecting all value sets on a page for review

Update Value Set Definition Review Status

Use this option if you reviewed the value set status and need to change it.

1. Open the value set in Authoring.
2. Go to the Review/Maintenance tab.
3. Go to the Value Set Definition Review Status table.
4. Select the definition version(s) that you want to update.
5. Click the “Update Review Status” link at the top of the table.
6. Select the review status from the drop-down menu. The options are Active, Not Maintained, Deprecated, and Retired depending on the current review status of your value set.
7. Click the “Save” button.
8. View the updated status in the Value Set Definition Review Status table.

Experimental value set definitions (available for authors and stewards only)

VSAC authors and stewards may create experimental value sets for review, experimental testing, or pilot testing.

A published experimental definition version creates published experimental expansion versions. Do not use these versions in production systems.

When an author submits a draft definition for approval, VSAC provides them with an option to submit it as an “Experimental” definition.

1. Open the value set in Authoring.
2. Go to the Definition tab.
3. Click the “Submit” button.
4. Review any warnings about your value set.
5. Click the “OK” button.
6. Select the option to submit the value set definition as Experimental.
7. Click the "Submit” button.

When a steward approves a draft definition version, they will see a reminder that the status is Experimental.

1. Open the value set in Authoring.
2. Go to the Definition tab.
3. Click the “Approve” button.
4. Review any warnings about your value set.
5. Click the “OK” button.
6. Click the “Approve” button again to confirm that you want to publish the value set definition with review status as Experimental.

Note that authors and stewards cannot change the status of a published definition version with the “Experimental” status.

Value Set Review Status Report (available for program release managers only)

Program release managers can generate and view a report of value set review statuses within a specific program release (e.g., eCQM Update 2023-05-04). The report lists all of the value sets in the release, their review status, and their last reviewed date.

How to download the Value Set Review Status report

1. Go to the My Program Releases tab.
2. Select your program release.
3. Click the “Value Set Review Status Report” button to download the report.
4. View the downloaded report.

Notification Emails for Review Reminders

VSAC will send value set review reminder emails to authors and stewards if they did not review their value set or publish a new definition version during the past year. This applies to value sets with their review status marked as "Active" or "Experimental."
The monthly review reminders begin after the one-year mark. Authors and stewards will receive the reminders for up to five months. Authors and stewards will receive the reminders at the beginning of each month. VSAC will only send one email notification per month to authors and stewards, for all their value sets that have come up for their one-year review.

What happens if I do not review my value sets or publish new definitions after receiving the final reminder email?

If authors and stewards do not review their value sets or publish new definitions after the final reminder email message, then VSAC will change the review status of these value sets to “Not Maintained.” This will happen at the beginning of the month following the final reminder message, about 18 months after the last review or last published definition version of a value set. Note that the ‘Not Maintained’ review status will appear in the public Search Value Sets repository at this point. These value sets will remain accessible to authors, stewards, and all other VSAC users after the review status change.

How do I return my value set to “Active” or “Experimental” review status?

If you want a value set to return to “Active” or “Experimental review status, an author will need to create a new definition version for the value set and a steward will need to approve and publish the new definition version. Authors and stewards will need to create and publish a new definition version for each “Not Maintained” value set that they intend to actively maintain. Note that NLM does not provide a service to revert your “Not Maintained” value sets back to “Active” or “Experimental” review status.

Notification Emails for Review Status Updates

Authors and stewards will receive email alerts when there is a change to the review status of their value sets.

Last Reviewed: July 5, 2024