CAHPS Practice Expectations Resource Document

A standardized measurement of patient/member experiences, known as CAHPS (Consumer Assessment of Health Providers and Systems) was developed to standardize surveys.
One aspect of the CAHPS survey focuses on Patient experience surveys focus on how patients experienced or perceived key aspects of their care, not how satisfied they were with their care. Patient experience surveys focus on asking patients whether or how often they experienced critical aspects of health care, including communication with their doctors, understanding their medication instructions, and the coordination of their healthcare needs.

Patients are asked to report primary or specialty care received from providers and their staff in ambulatory settings. The survey produces the following measures of patient experience:
• Access to Timely Appointments, Care, and Information
• How Well Providers Communicate with Patients
• Helpful, Courteous, and Respectful Office Staff
• Patients’ Rating of the Provider

Primary and specialty care practices can use the results from this survey to identify their strengths and weaknesses and help develop strategies for improving patients’ experiences with care delivered in their offices. To follow is a suggested teaching tool for your practice to implement to improve upon your practice’s CAHPS outcome
results: