Talk:Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems

The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) refers to a family of surveys that ask patients to report on experiences with health care that reflect the quality of care provided. These surveys are developed and maintained in the United States through a Federal research program overseen by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

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Purpose of CAHPS Surveys
CAHPS surveys ask patients to report on and evaluate their experiences with aspects of ambulatory and facility care that are important to them and which they are best qualified to assess (e.g., the extent to which doctors and nurses communicated clearly and patients had timely access to health care services). Results of CAHPS surveys complement other quality measures (e.g., measures of clinical processes and outcomes) and can be used to drive quality improvement efforts, inform patients’ decisions when selecting health care providers, and support health care purchasers in monitoring quality of care.

CAHPS surveys are available for multiple settings, including health plans, doctors’ offices, hospitals, nursing homes, ambulatory surgical centers, and facilities that provide care for cancer, kidney disease, and hospice. Many of the CAHPS surveys have versions for both adults (18 and over) and children (in which parents report on the experience of a child 17 or younger).

Development of the CAHPS Surveys
The development process for CAHPS surveys emphasizes scientific rigor and reflects the patient perspective. Steps to develop a CAHPS survey include literature reviews and environmental scans, focus groups with patients, input from health care providers and other key stakeholders, cognitive testing of survey questions and reporting measures, and field testing. This process is designed to ensure that the surveys yield reliable and valid data that meets the information needs of health care consumers, providers, health plans, purchasers, and policymakers.

To achieve the program’s goals, AHRQ funds private research organizations with proven expertise in survey design and evaluation, public reporting, and quality assessment and improvement. The current organizations are RAND Corporation and the Yale School of Public Health. These research organizations work with AHRQ and other federal agencies to develop, test, and enhance the surveys, and to produce resources that support and evaluate their use in reports and improvement initiatives.

Reliability and Validity of CAHPS Surveys
In order for surveys to receive the CAHPS trademark, the CAHPS program ensures that all CAHPS surveys meet specified standards. Both cognitive and psychometric testing methods are used in the development of CAHPS surveys to maximize the reliability and validity of the survey instruments.