HCAHPS Surveys: A Case Study

The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers (HCAHPS) began in 2006 with a 27 question survey that is distributed to discharged patients. This survey process was originally designed to help patients compare hospitals in their area to be able to make an informed choice for their healthcare needs. In January 2013, five additional questions were added to the survey. Beginning this year, Medicare reimbursement rates to a hospital are tied to the hospital’s patient satisfaction scores. Therefore, hospitals are continually looking for ways to improve

Healthcare is in a constant state of change with movements that impact rates, access and quality of care. Hospitals have become more competitive due to the rising cost of care delivery and the reduction in reimbursement from payers. This causes difficulty in delivering quality care to all patients, which is being measured by mandated patient perception surveys, Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS). HCAHPS scores are part of value

With patients today using the threat of reporting low satisfaction rates in the hopes of receiving faster or higher quality care, they seem to have taken the upper hand in some of the decision making of what will take place in the healthcare world (Sullivan). But is it really the survey results that will make the drastic changes that are needed?

CMS will be rewarding the top performing hospitals by increasing to their payment for Medicaid patients. HCAHPS survey is sent out within six weeks of the patients discharged, there is 27 questions relating to communication with the staff, cleanliness, pain management, communication about medicines, discharge information and if they would recommend the hospital. The data is to Premier Incorporated to categorize the date, and then place this information on the website http://.wwwhospitalcompar.hhs.gov and available to the public. Health Quality Alliance and Center of Medicare and Medicaid Systems have awarded over eight million to hospitals who have shown improvements in the care of their patients.

The AHRQ organization has several portfolios’ that are funded and supports research projects. Such portfolios are information technology, health patient safety, prevention and care management, and value portfolios. Within these portfolio’s, grants are there to fund new projects that relate to each category. Within each portfolio, research has been started and effectiveness of these projects is underway. Some clinical research projects are a set of priority conditions of importance to the Medicaid, Medicare, and SCHIP programs. Projected initiatives are to improve quality of care. The Value portfolio finds ways to reduce unnecessary cost and waste while maintaining or improving quality without adding cost which is a critical, national need (2012, p.5).

In addition, it also measures the quality of care and patient satisfaction. In 2015, the US Secretary of HHS has announced a goal of 85 percentages of Medicare Fee for Service payments tied to quality or value. In addition, many new payment models are associated with HRRP; for instance, forthcoming Skilled Nursing Facility VBP program and Dialysis Adequacy measure , potentially specifies preventable readmission measures. As the system is moving from quantity to quality, it is beneficial to implement quality of standards to optimize future benefits for the community and Central Health as well. Currently, Central Health has higher readmission rate than national average with an overall rating of 2 out of 5. Penalties incurred due to below standard of care could strain hospital resources to utilize for the betterment of our facility. Furthermore, the incentive structure has concerned Central Health to reevaluate the mode of practice and care provided engaging healthcare providers and patients. Central Health is committed to reducing readmission rates by identifying and sharing best practices for long term benefits. Given the flexibility of penalty under the 21st Cure Act, the initial program will focus on readmission prevention within 30 days of hospital

Charles HaydenTatia Green, onlineMB208-ICD-1012/3/2015Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health CareIn 1979, a nonprofit organization was established to assist ambulatory health care organizations in improving the quality care provided to patients. This organization which some may know of is called Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, Inc. which: "Encourage and assist ambulatory health care organizations to provide the highest achievable level of care for recipients in the most efficient and economically sound manner. The AAAHC accomplishes this by the operation of a peer-based assessment, consultation, education and accreditation program." American College Health Association, Ambulatory Surgery Foundation, The American Group Practice Association, Group Health Association of America, Medical Group Management Association and the National Association of Community Health Centers are the six founding members of AAAHC. A few things that this association does are measure performance, provide consultation and education, review and revise standards. AAAHC accreditation means the organization participates in an ongoing self evaluation, peer review and education to continuously improve its care and services. Not only does this organization live up to its standards, but commits thorough onsite survey by AAAHC surveyors whom are also health care professionals. When surveying an organization, the AAAHC includes the following as listed: Patient RightsAre patients

Quality can be difficult to measure, which is what has halted the strong pursuit of quality in the past. Healthcare organizations use quality assessment to measure quality against some established standard. This includes “defining how quality is to be determined, identification of specified variables... and the collection of appropriate data to make the measurement possible (Shi, 2015, pg. 493). The Affordable Care Act set new standards and incentives for achieving quality of care. This includes offering Medicare reimbursements for hospitals with low readmission rates, and ensuring that (not-for-profit) hospitals complete a community health needs assessment (to ensure that the needs of the community are being met) and by implementing HCAHPS scores, which measures efficiency and efficacy of care using patient surveys. HCAHPS and hospital readmission good example of how quality of care can be measured in efficiency as well as

The performance measure is to improve patient satisfaction scores on the unit. Our goals are to increase HCAPHS scores, to achieve this goal we will be implementing an anonymous patient satisfaction survey for parents that will be given at of discharge. Results from this survey will provide feedback on ways to improve patient care. As a result, it will improve HCAPHS scores for the hospital, thereby increasing hospital reimbursement and revenue.

Survey of patient’s experiences is important source of information of the quality of health care provided by the particular hospital, which allows patients to compare the hospitals in the area. The HCAHPS star rating of Gulf Coast Hospital and Bay Medical Center is two stars, while Sacred Heart Hospital is rated with four stars on the excellence of care. The outliner indicators for Gulf Coast Medical Center in the survey of patients’ experiences on the question: “How often did patients receive help quickly from the hospital staff?” shows that 74% patients pick the answer “always communicated well”, that is slightly lower than national average with 79%. The survey question “How often were the patients’ rooms and bathrooms kept clean” only 61% of the patients pick that their bathroom and room were “always clean” that is much lower than the national average 74% and only 47% of the patients understood the care that was provided when they were

One way CMS (Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services) collects proof is through HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) Surveys. This “initiative …provides a standardized survey instrument

Every health care organization is struggling to address the mandated Centers for Medicare (CMS) core measures, the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers (HCAHPS) patient satisfaction scores, in addition to the reportable events requirements. Given the reimbursement tied to outcomes, the organization is taking a serious stance in addressing the quality and safety initiatives, in addition to patient satisfaction scores. Furthermore, the organization has a patient safety counsel that focuses on nursing professional practice through the utilization of evidence based initiatives, assuring that nursing is deeply entrenched in working towards quality and safety goals.

According to http://www.mghpcs.org/eed_portal/Documents/PatExp/What_is_HCAHPS.pdf, the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (known as HCAHPS) is ‘the first national, standardized, and publicly reported survey of patients' perspectives of hospital care administered by MGH. This patient satisfaction assessment is required by CMS (the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) for all hospitals in the United States. The Survey is for adult inpatients, excluding psychiatric patients. This assessment is ordered to a random sample of adult patients across medical conditions between forty-eight hours and six weeks following discharge’. It is conducted via mail, telephone, mail with telephone follow-up,

The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Health Plan Survey is a tool used to collect standardized information that analyzes the experience of enrollees' through health plans and their services. The intent is to design a support system that assesses consumer’s performance with the health plans and it allows them to choose the plan that best suits their needs. It was first launched in 1997 and has now become the national standard when it comes to both determining and reporting the experiences of consumers through their health plan. Almost every state conducts this form of standardization and sponsors within the U.S. include health plans, state agencies who regulate health care, as well as federal agencies, such as the Department of Defense and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

This will help with revenue and keeping their business growing. Customer service is kind of different in healthcare. Even though healthcare professionals do their jobs and take care of their patient’s needs, customer satisfaction has never really been a must. It is usually understood, do the minimum and get them in and out of the office and on to the next patient. We all know that when patients get sick they usually do not want to go to the doctor but they know it is a necessity. Since it is not an option, but a necessity; patients sometimes feel they do not deserve superior treatment. Now that there’s a patient satisfaction survey this will change the way customer service works due to the patient 's rating their experience. Therefore, the hospitals have to step up their game and set different rules. There needs to be many changes made from communication between staff, the quality of care, and the patient 's visit with the healthcare provider in order to increase their ratings.