Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems

Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) refers to a set of surveys that ask patients to report on their health care experiences.[1] The surveys are free to anyone who wants to use them. They focus on aspects of healthcare quality that patients find important and are well-equipped to assess, such as the communication skills of providers and ease of access to healthcare services.[2] To customize a standardized CAHPS survey, users can add questions on a variety of topics.

The development of CAHPS surveys is funded and overseen by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), a branch of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. AHRQ does not administer the surveys. Surveys must be administered by a qualified vendor. CAHPS surveys help healthcare organizations use data to identify strengths and weaknesses, determine where they need to improve, and track progress over time.

Several types of CAHPS surveys are available for different kinds of healthcare settings and providers. Examples include the CAHPS Health Plan Survey,[3] the CAHPS Hospital Survey (HCAHPS),[4] and the CAHPS Clinician & Group Survey (CG-CAHPS).[5] CAHPS surveys may be administered by phone and/or mail, depending on the certification of the vendor administering the survey.

CAHPS surveys help healthcare organizations use data to identify strengths and weaknesses, determine where they need to improve, and track progress over time. Each CAHPS survey is designed to assess patient experience in a specific health care setting.

Reliability

To receive the CAHPS trademark, patient experience surveys must meet specified standards established by AHRQ. In particular, AHRQ requires that developers of CAHPS surveys use both cognitive and psychometric testing methods to maximize the reliability and validity of the survey instruments.[6][7][8]

References

  1. ^ Cleary PD, Crofton C, Hays RD, Horner R (November 2012). "Advances from the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) Project. Introduction". Medical Care. 50 Suppl: S1. doi:10.1097/MLR.0b013e31826ec0cb. PMID 23064270.
  2. ^ "About CAHPS". AHRQ.
  3. ^ "CAHPS Health Plan Survey". www.ahrq.gov. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  4. ^ "CAHPS Hospital Survey". www.ahrq.gov. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  5. ^ "CAHPS Clinician & Group Survey". www.ahrq.gov. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  6. ^ Levine RE, Fowler FJ, Brown JA (Dec 2005). "Role of cognitive testing in the development of the CAHPS Hospital Survey". Health Serv Res. 40 (6 Pt. 2): 2037–2056. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6773.2005.00472.x. PMC 1361243. PMID 16316437.
  7. ^ Price PA, Stucky B, Parast L, Elliott MN, Haas A, Bradley M, Teno JM (Jul 2018). "Development of valid and reliable measures of patient and family experiences of hospice care for public reporting". Journal of Palliative Medicine. 21 (7): 924–932. doi:10.1089/jpm.2017.0594. hdl:2027.42/146458. PMID 29649404. S2CID 4783667.
  8. ^ Hays, RD; Shaul, JA; Williams, VS; Lubalin, JS; Harris-Kojetin, LD; Sweeny, SF; Cleary, PD (Mar 1999). "Psychometric properties of the CAHPS 1.0 survey measures. Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Study". Medical Care. 37 (3 Suppl): MS22-31. doi:10.1097/00005650-199903001-00003. PMID 10098556.