Understanding the survey, data collection, and reporting.
What is HCAHPS?
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.
Who Designed It?
The United States Department of Health and Human Services designed the survey as part of a national initiative. The survey measures and publicly report patients’ perspectives on the quality of inpatient care in hospitals.
Why Conduct the Survey?
The primary objectives of the survey are to provide, produce and supply to consumers, universal patient care results across hospitals nationwide. an effective method to measure patients’ perspectives on hospital care.
Who is Eligible?
Survey Demographics:
The HCAHPS survey demographics is to be completed by patients who fit the following criteria:
Acute care adult patients
Recipient of medical, surgical or obstetrical treatment and care
Excluded patients include: deceased patients, patients under the age of 18, psychiatric patients and those who are discharged to hospice care
How Is the Survey Conducted?
Methodologies:
A target amount of 300 patients per year (12 months) will be selected. The selected population
must meet the criteria listed above. The sampling will take place on a once a month basis or as frequently as weekly for a 12 month period.
There are several means in which the data will be collected. Sterling Research Group, Inc. will work with you to help determine which system will best accommodate you. The options available to you are:
- Mail Only - A survey will be sent to the sample population via USPS. For those patients in the sample population that did not respond, a follow-up survey will be mailed to them within 3 weeks of the first survey. Click the desired language option to see a sample letter.
- Mixed - The sample population will receive the survey via USPS followed up by a phone call to those who did not respond to the mailed survey.
- Phone - This procedure utilizes patient contact via the telephone to gather the data for the survey. If the selected patient is unresponsive, they will attempt to be contacted up to five times in order to collect their data. Click to review the English Telephone Script, Click to review the Spanish Telephone Script
- IVR - IVR or Interactive Voice Response is a system where selected patients will be contacted by telephone and then routed to systems allowing them to complete the survey by using their touch-tone telephone. Click to review the Interactive Voice Response Script
Survey Questionnaire
To review a copy of the survey patients will participate in, please click the desired language option to see a survey.
Reporting and Results
As your comprehensive market research company, Sterling will record and submit your facility’s results in accordance with the procedures outlined by CAHPS®. Selecting Sterling to administer the HCAHPS survey on your behalf will ensure your facility is compliant with the administration and data collection processes of the survey. Some of the items we will be addressing on your behalf are:
- Begin conducting the survey within the timeframe outlined by CAHPS®
- Identify eligible patients
- Ensuring your facility surveys patients throughout each month
- Verifying the minimum number of surveys are complete and reported
- Conduct random sample
- Track survey process and record returns
- Submit survey results utilizing required data exchange tools
- Deliver results in compliance the submission dates outlines by CAHPS®
