H-CAHPS
                          Patient satisfaction survey data collection 
                            and analysis for Hospitals
                          Hospitals 
                            CAHPS FAQ:
                          
                          
                          
                          
                          
                          
                          
                          
                            - Other 
                              questions? Our marketing research experts will be 
                              happy to answer them. Call us at 
                              888.420.8884 or 
                              fill out our contact 
                              form 
                               
                              and we will contact you. 
 
                          What 
                            is HCAHPS?
                          HCAHPS 
                            is a standardized survey of the experiences of adult 
                            inpatients with hospital care and services. Hospitals 
                            across the country are using this survey and reporting 
                            data to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 
                            (CMS). 
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                          How 
                            is the HCAHPS survey constructed and conducted: instrument 
                            and method?
                          Structure 
                            of HCAHPS survey:
                          
                            - 27 
                              questions total including perspectives 
                              on seven key topics  
                              
                                -  
                                  communication with doctors
- communication 
                                  with nurses
- responsiveness 
                                  of hospital staff
- cleanliness 
                                  and quietness of hospital environment
- pain 
                                  management
- communication 
                                  about medicines
- discharge 
                                  information
 
- four 
                              approved modes of administration  
                              
                                - Mail 
                                  Only - Recomended by Alexandria
- Telephone 
                                  Only
- Mixed 
                                  (mail followed by telephone)
- Active 
                                  Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
 
 "[In 
                            the second quarter for 2008], 72.6% of the publicly 
                            reported hospitals employed the mail mode, 26.6% used 
                            the telephone mode, and 0.7% used mixed or IVR modes. 
                            In addition, 97.5% of hospitals used a survey vendor 
                            (including multi-site hospitals), while 2.5% self-administered 
                            the HCAHPS survey." 
                          Source: 
                            (HCAHPS Executive Insight, September 2009. hcahpsonline.org. 
                            Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Baltimore, 
                            MD. November, 25, 2009.
                            http://www.hcahpsonline.org/Executive_Insight/ 
                            
                          We 
                            recommend and provide the "Mail Only" mode 
                            of the HCAHPS survey, because it:
                          
                            - offers 
                              convenience for the patients to respond;
- provides 
                              patients with time to think about how to respond;
-  
                              is less intimidating and more anonymous and we believe 
                              it gives unbiased data.
Recommendation: 
                            Although CAHPS permits additional questions 
                            to be added to the HCAHPS survey our suggestion is 
                            to keep these to a minimum or add no additional questions 
                            mainly because a longer survey tends to have an adverse 
                            affect on the response rate. 
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                          What 
                            are the features of the HCAHPS survey?
                          
                            - produces 
                              comparable data on the patient's perspective on 
                              care 
- enables 
                              objective and meaningful comparisons between hospitals
-  
                              leads to public reporting of the survey results 
                              
- provides 
                              incentives for hospitals to improve their quality 
                              of care
- enhances 
                              public accountability in health care by increasing 
                              the transparency of the quality of hospital care
- is 
                              a credible, useful, and practical survey
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                          Where 
                            do the of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 
                            publicly report the benchmarking on HCAHPS survey 
                            results?
                          Hospital-level 
                            results are publicly reported on the Hospital 
                            Compare Web site, which is also available 
                            through a link at the Medicare 
                            website. Benchmarking 
                            Data Available is a report that provides 
                            summary level survey results for hospitals that have 
                            fielded the survey and submitted their data to the 
                            CAHPS Database for this analysis. This report aggregates 
                            the results for hospitals by selected characteristics 
                            (e.g., bed size, region, teaching status). 
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                          What 
                            are the the consequences for our Hospital if we do 
                            not participate in the HCAHPS survey initiative?
                          IPPS 
                            hospitals participating in the Reporting 
                            Hospital Quality Data Annual Payment Update program 
                            (RHQDAPU) that fail to report the required quality 
                            measures (which include the HCAHPS patient perspective 
                            survey) could, for FY 2008, receive an APU that is 
                            reduced by 2.0 percentage points. Non-IPPS 
                            hospitals can voluntarily participate in 
                            HCAHPS. To view the display copy of the Acute Inpatient 
                            PPS final rule (CMS-1533-FC) for FY 2008, go to the 
                            CMS 
                            website. 
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                          What 
                            should our hospital concider about HCAHPS surveys?
                          Would 
                            you like professionals to perform your HCAHPS Survey 
                            Data Collection and Analysis?
                          Alexandria 
                            Marketing Research Group provides a link between proven 
                            theory and practical application of strategic, tactical, 
                            and operational research tools.
                          
                            - Are 
                              you receiving prompt quarterly and annual reports 
                              about your service quality? 
 
- Have 
                              your HCAHPS reports been helping you improve your 
                              quality? 
 
- Are 
                              the reports interactive and do they allow you to 
                              use them effectively during management presentations 
                              and discussions?
 
- Have 
                              you achieved high enough response rate? In order 
                              to report your findings and improvement to the community, 
                              you need to receive at least 100 responses per year.
 
- Do 
                              you have a vendor partner that helps you succeed? 
                              
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                          What 
                            are the benefits of using Alexandria Marketing Research 
                            Group to administer HCAHPS surveys?
                          Our 
                            valuable information analysis and methods allow you 
                            to:
                          
                            - Manage 
                              your business more effectively, improve your service 
                              quality and operations, attain competitive advantage, 
                              and be a winner;
                            - Better 
                              understand and communicate with your employees, 
                              your patients, and your market;
                            -  
                              Receive valuable and presentable information analysis 
                              in frequent interactive analytical reports in PowerPoint 
                              presentations;
                            -  
                              Have your information presentable and easy to use 
                              at meetings, presentations, and discussions;
                            -  
                              Achieve between 25% and 40% response rate to be 
                              able to report your services’ quality levels 
                              to the community;
                            -  
                              Save time and resources from reducing the internal 
                              departments’ workload on data processing;
                            -  
                              Receive competitive quality service with our competitive 
                              price, security, and long term commitment;
                            -  
                              Improve your organization: achieve and hold high 
                              quality standards.
Let 
                            us help you improve your service 
                            and operations quality through H-CAHPS survey data 
                            collection and analysis. For 
                            more information about Alexandria or to receive a 
                            quote contact us. 
                            We will come to your door when you need us for a presentation 
                            or a consultation.
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                          Further 
                            Resources!
                          
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                          Sourses: 
                            
                          cahps.ahrq.gov. 
                            Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. June16, 
                            2008.
                          hcahpsonline.org. 
                            Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Baltimore, 
                            MD. June16, 2008.