Making the most
of CAHPS for
effective
compliance

The Hospital CAHPS survey is designed to provide feedback from patient experiences that is standardized to allow easy comparisons of hospitals across the United States. Results are reported publicly, allowing consumers to learn from other patients’ perspectives and make informed decisions when selecting the best hospital for their own care.

HCAHPS is a requirement of the Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and must be conducted by an approved survey vendor. NRC Health administers the HCAHPS Survey via mail, phone, and mixed mail and phone in a variety of languages with a focus on diligently adhering to CMS guidelines.

High quality HCAHPS service ensures our partner hospitals have positive relationships with CMS, accurate representations of their quality of care, and provides a solid foundation for learning about patient perceptions and opportunities for growth.

The ACO Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health (REACH) Model evolved from the Global & Professional Direct Contracting (GPDC) Model, which was created as part of a strategy to decrease costs while improving the quality of primary care.

ACO REACH builds on the GPDC Model to advance health equity and bring healthcare to underserved communities, promote leadership and governance by providers, and provide greater protections for beneficiaries.

Beginning in PY 2023, REACH ACOs are required to field a CAHPS Survey, based on the 2022 GPDC CAHPS Survey, which incorporates pay for performance.
As your trusted partner, NRC Health will administer the ACO REACH CAHPS Survey and ensure compliance throughout data collection and submission of results to CMS.

Designed to evaluate clinician performance and promote improved quality and value in healthcare, the CAHPS for Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) Survey is a way for clinicians to participate in the Quality Payment Program and for Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organizations (SSP ACOs) to report through the Alternative Payment Model Performance Pathway. Organizations must administer the CAHPS for MIPS Survey through a CMS-approved survey vendor and will earn a performance-based Medicare payment adjustment.

NRC Health administers the CAHPS for MIPS Survey via mixed telephone and mail methodology per CMS guidelines, offering our customers a seamless experience gathering this valuable feedback and providing insight into opportunities to improve the patient experience.

The Home Health Care CAHPS Survey measures the experiences of patients who receive home health care from a Medicare-certified Home Health Agency. Eligible HHAs are required to administer the survey through an authorized vendor to avoid a reduction in their annual payment update reimbursement.

NRC Health makes HHCAHPS administration easy, provides meaningful and user-friendly reports, and offers a proactive approach to helping your organization drive improvement. The survey is offered in a variety of languages to meet the needs of your patient population.

Evaluating the experiences that families and children have when a child stays overnight in the hospital is critical to understanding quality of care. Since patient-centeredness is a direct component of healthcare quality, it makes sense that NRC Health has played an integral role in the development of the Child HCAHPS survey.

Child HCAHPS is funded by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and is part of the CAHPS portfolio of instruments. The Child HCAHPS Survey can be used to fulfill part of The Leapfrog Group’s Hospital Survey requirement for Pediatric Care.

The Outpatient and Ambulatory Surgery (OAS) CAHPS Survey measures patient experiences with Hospital Outpatient Departments (HOPDs) and Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs). The survey provides valuable feedback on communication and care, preparation for surgery, and preparation for discharge and recovery from patients who have had an outpatient surgery.

Participation will become tied to reimbursement in PY 2024 for HOPDs and 2025 for ASCs and must be conducted by a CMS-approved survey vendor. NRC Health partners with outpatient organizations to administer the OAS CAHPS Survey to gain actionable insight into this patient population.

By gathering feedback from family and caregivers after a patient has passed, the CAHPS Hospice Survey is designed to measure the quality of care patients received in the final stages of life. Results let hospices identify opportunities for improvement and help patients make informed decisions about their care.

Participation through an approved vendor is required by CMS. NRC Health partners with hospice organizations to field the CAHPS Hospice Survey through mail, phone, or mixed mail and phone methodology to ensure compliance with CMS guidelines and gain insight into the experiences of this valued population.

ICH CAHPS is part of the ESRD Quality Incentive Program and is required as part of the value-based purchasing program for payments under the Medicare Program. The survey is fielded twice a year through mail, phone, or mixed mail and phone methodology.

As a CMS-approved vendor, NRC Health will partner with you to assess the patient experience in your dialysis facilities to improve performance and quality of care while ensuring compliance with CMS guidelines.

Primary Care First (PCF) Patient Experience of Care Survey (PECS) is a voluntary, 5-year alternative CMS payment model that rewards value and quality by offering innovative payment model structures to support delivery of advanced primary care. Clinical quality, utilization, and patient experience survey measures are used to assess the quality-of-care delivery by participating PCF practice sites and determine performance-based payment adjustments.

Per CMS procedure, NRC Health administers the survey using a mixed-mode methodology of postcards, questionnaire mailings, and telephone outreach. The PCF PECS is a required component of the annual quality gateway that is assessed for all PCF practices as part of the performance-based adjustment.