Patient Experience Survey
Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP, Curator
LPBI
Survey of patients’ experiences (HCAHPS)
https://www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare/About/Survey-Patients-Experience.html
- The HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) Survey, also known as the CAHPS® Hospital Survey or Hospital CAHPS®, is a standardized survey instrument and data collection methodology that has been in use since 2006 to measure patients’ perspectives of hospital care. A partnership of public and private organizations led by the Federal government, specifically the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)– Opens in a new window and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)– Opens in a new window, created HCAHPS (pronounced “H-caps”) to publicly report the patient’s perspective of hospital care. The HCAHPS results posted on Hospital Compare allow consumers to make fair and objective comparisons between hospitals and with state and national averages on important measures of patients’ perspectives of care.
- The survey asks a random sample of recently discharged adult patients to give feedback about topics like how well nurses and doctors communicated, how responsive hospital staff were to patient needs, how well the hospital managed patients’ pain, and the cleanliness and quietness of the hospital environment. Patients are the best sources of information on these topics.
- The table below lists the topics and questions included in the survey. Patients are able to respond by answering “never,” “sometimes,” “usually,” or “always” to most of the survey questions. Hospitals that are rated well have higher percentages of patients who chose the most positive response option, like “always,” to the survey questions.
Survey topic | Survey question |
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1) How often did nurses communicate well with patients? | During this hospital stay…
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2) How often did doctors communicate well with patients? | During this hospital stay…
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3) How often did patients receive help quickly from hospital staff? | During this hospital stay…
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4) How often was patients’ pain well controlled? | During this hospital stay…
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5) How often did staff explain about medicines before giving them to patients? | Before giving you any new medicine…
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6) How often were the patients’ rooms and bathrooms kept clean? | During this hospital stay…
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7) How often was the area around patients’ rooms kept quiet at night? | During this hospital stay…
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8) Were patients given information about what to do during their recovery at home? | During this hospital stay…
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9) How well did patients understand the type of care they would need after leaving the hospital? | During this hospital stay…
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10) How do patients rate the hospital overall? | What number would you use to rate this hospital during your stay? |
11) Would patients recommend the hospital to friends and family? | Would you recommend this hospital to your friends and family? |
For more information about HCAHPS, see About the data– Opens in a new window, the HCAHPS page– Opens in a new window on the CMS website or
the official HCAHPS website, www.hcahpsonline.org– Opens in a new window External Link icon.
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