Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) refers to a set of surveys that ask

patient A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by Health professional, healthcare professionals. The patient is most often Disease, ill or Major trauma, injured and in need of therapy, treatment by a physician, nurse, op ...

s to report on their

health care Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

experiences. 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 Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not only transmit ...

of providers and ease of access to healthcare services. 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 The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ; pronounced "ark" by initiates and often "A-H-R-Q" by the public) is one of twelve agencies within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The agency is headquartered in North ...

(AHRQ), a branch of the

United States Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

. 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, the CAHPS Hospital Survey (HCAHPS), and the CAHPS Clinician & Group Survey (CG-CAHPS). 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 A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

, patient experience surveys must meet specified standards established by AHRQ. In particular, AHRQ requires that developers of CAHPS surveys use both

cognitive Cognition is the "mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...

and

psychometric Psychometrics is a field of study within psychology concerned with the theory and technique of measurement. Psychometrics generally covers specialized fields within psychology and education devoted to testing, measurement, assessment, and rela ...

testing methods to maximize the reliability and validity of the survey instruments.

References

External links

* CAHPS Survey Protects Online Reputation * * {{cite journal , last1=Schmocker , first1=Ryan K. , last2=Cherney Stafford , first2=Linda M. , last3=Siy , first3=Alexander B. , last4=Leverson , first4=Glen E. , last5=Winslow , first5=Emily R. , title=Understanding the determinants of patient satisfaction with surgical care using the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems surgical care survey (S-CAHPS) , journal=Surgery , date=December 2015 , volume=158 , issue=6 , pages=1724–1733 , doi=10.1016/j.surg.2015.06.018 , pmid=26195107 , pmc=4637186 * https://www.cms.gov/data-research/research/consumer-assessment-healthcare-providers-systems Health care quality Health informatics Patient advocacy