Home Health and Hospice CAHPS

The Home Health (HH) Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Survey measures the experiences of patients receiving home health services from Medicare-certified home health organizations.

Any Medicare-certified home health organization serving 60 or more patients with Medicare or Medicaid (including Medicare/Medicaid Advantage programs) as an insurer are required to participate in HH CAHPS, as a condition of participation.

The Home Health CAHPS Survey is administered by mail, telephone, or mixed (mail survey followed by telephone) mode, and can only be conducted by a CMS-approved Home Health CAHPS vendor. Since survey administration occurs after a minimum of 2 visits by an eligible provider and not just after discharge, the survey must be completed by a patient or loved one (if patient mentally or physically unable to complete the survey) knowledgeable about the patient’s home health care. The survey results are submitted to CMS by the Home Health CAHPS vendor.

The Home Health CAHPS Survey contains 34 questions that allow patients to rate their perceptions of skilled home care received:

• Care of patients
• Communication between providers and patients
• Specific care issues
• Rating of care provided by the agency
• Willingness to recommend the agency to friends and family

These topics are important to patients seeking to choose a home health provider. A copy of the survey questionnaire can be found at this site

The official Home Health CAHPS Survey results are reported on the Home Health Compare (HHC) web site with three composites (groups of questions) and two global items. CMS provides HH CAHPS Preview Reports at least a quarter prior to public release, to provide home health organizations an opportunity to verify the results and identify any issues or discrepancies prior to release. Unofficial results are typically available from approved HH CAHPS vendors contracted by home health organizations to administer their HH CAHPS Surveys. It is important to contract with vendors who provide additional support with improving survey results beyond the basic reporting.

The Hospice Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Survey was created to assess the experiences of decedents who died while receiving hospice care from Medicare-certified hospice organizations, as well as the experiences of their caregivers. The survey results produce comparable data on decedents’/caregivers’ perspectives of care, allowing objective and meaningful comparisons across hospices on domains important to consumers, while creating incentives for hospices to improve their quality of care.

Any Medicare-certified hospice organization serving 50 or more patients with Medicare or Medicaid (including Medicare/Medicaid Advantage programs) as an insurer are required to participate, as a condition of participation.

The Hospice CAHPS Survey is administered by mail, telephone, or mixed (mail survey followed by telephone) mode, and can only be conducted by a CMS-approved Hospice CAHPS vendor. Since survey administration occurs after the decedent’s death, the survey must be completed by a caregiver who is knowledgeable about the decedent’s hospice care. The survey results are submitted to CMS by the Hospice CAHPS vendor.

The Hospice CAHPS Survey contains 47 questions that allow caregivers to rate the decedent’s service on the topics of:

• Communication with Family
• Getting Timely Help
• Treating Patient with Respect
• Emotional and Spiritual Support
• Help for Pain and Symptoms
• Training Family to Care for Patient
• Rating of this Hospice
• Willingness to Recommend this Hospice

These topics are important to patients seeking to choose a hospice provider. A copy of the survey questionnaire can be found at this site

The official Hospice CAHPS Survey results are reported on the Hospice Compare web site with six composites (groups of questions) and two global items. CMS provides Hospice CAHPS Preview Reports at least a quarter prior to public release, to provide hospice organizations an opportunity to verify the results and identify any issues or discrepancies prior to release. Unofficial results are available from approved Hospice CAHPS vendors contracted by hospice organizations to administer their Hospice CAHPS Surveys. It is important to contract with vendors who provide additional support with improving survey results beyond the basic reporting.