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What is HCAHPS?
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Date : 10/14/2010
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HCAHPS (or Hospital CAHPS) is the acronym for; Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems. The intention of the HCAHPS initiative is to provide a standardized survey for all hospitals and/or satellite clinics to use nationwide.
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Why is HCAHPS important?
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Date : 10/14/2010
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As part of a national initiative, The United States Department of Health and Human Services designed a survey to measure and publicly report patients’ perspectives on the quality of inpatient care in hospitals.
The survey is designed to produce objective comparisons between hospitals measures patients’ perspectives on quality of care. The results and data collected from the survey will be used to accomplish the three goals of The United States Department of Health and Human Services:
- Goal 1: Help consumers make informed selections when choosing a hospital
- Goal 2: Provide public reporting of survey results, creating a benchmarking and incentive tool for hospitals to use to improve their quality of care.
- Goal 3: Enhance public accountability in health care by increasing the transparency of the quality of hospital care provided in return for the public investment.
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Is the HCAHPS survey critical to the survival of the facility?
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Date : 10/14/2010
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The public results and data obtained from the HCAHPS survey, is critical to your facility’s success as they will reflect the perceived reputation and ongoing commitment to quality care the facility and its staff provides.
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What about surveys already in place?
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Date : 10/14/2010
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Data from these surveys are essential benchmarking tools as well. The HCAHPS survey is a flexible tool that can stand alone or be used in addition to existing surveys used. Now that standardized surveys are a reality for hospitals, the need for an established and experienced research group, prepared to measure and deliver patients’ perspectives on hospital care is essential. Trusted results based on integrity, accuracy and affordability is the backbone Sterling was built on. This strong backbone is essential to measuring and reporting accurate diagnostic results.
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Which hospitals are eligible to participate in HCAHPS?
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Date : 10/14/2010
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Hospitals that report clinical data to CMS are eligible to participate in HCAHPS. It is not intended to be used for pediatric hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, or other specialty hospitals.
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If HCAHPS is for general acute care hospitals, can you specify which types of specialty hospitals would be excluded from the HCAHPS process?
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Date : 10/14/2010
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HCAHPS is designed for acute care hospitals. The majority of specialty hospitals (e.g., pediatric, psychiatric) are excluded. Any hospital that is reimbursed under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System and is eligible for the Annual Payment Update (referred to as RHQDAPU) will need to participate in HCAHPS in order to receive full reimbursement updates.
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How will reimbursement be connected to HCAHPS?
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Date : 10/14/2010
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On November 1, 2006, CMS issued a final rule regarding the Outpatient Prospective Payment System that was designed to promote higher quality in outpatient care. Although the rule is primarily related to the Outpatient Prospective Payment System, it also includes provisions for expanding the quality reporting requirements for hospital inpatient services and links submission of HCAHPS data - beginning with discharges in July of 2007 - to the hospital’s market basket update for the 2008 fiscal year. Hospitals that are subject to IPPS payment provisions (RHQDAPU-eligible "subsection (d) hospitals") must meet the new reporting requirements in order to receive their full IPPS annual payment update (APU) for fiscal year 2008. IPPS hospitals that fail to report the required quality measures (which include the HCAHPS patient perspective survey) could receive an APU that is reduced by 2.0 percentage points. Non-IPPS hospitals (e.g., critical access hospitals) can voluntarily participate in HCAHPS. However, neither participation nor non- participation in HCAHPS will affect the annual payment update of hospitals that are not subject to IPPS payment provisions.
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When should the survey be sent to the patient and when does it need to be returned?
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Date : 10/14/2010
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Surveys must be distributed between 48 hours and six weeks post discharge to be included. Data collection must close six weeks following the start of data collection for each respondent.
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How often should a patient receive a survey?
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Date : 10/14/2010
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A patient should receive a survey for every inpatient stay. The only allowable exclusion is for a patient who has multiple stays in one calendar month.
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Questions?
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Date : 10/18/2010
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If your question wasn’t answered here, or if you need more detail, call to speak with one of Sterling’s certified HCAHPS professionals at 877-338-8440 or send us an email to info@sterlingresearchgroup.comwith your question.
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