New Podcast

The HCAHPS Survey Project Team posted a new podcast titled “HCAHPS Program Updates: Changes to Survey Content and Survey Protocol” that discusses the January 2025 HCAHPS changes. The podcast is available here. NRC Health recommends taking advantage of this valuable resource.

Star Ratings Calculations

Starting with the April 2025 public reporting refresh, CMS will use more recent data to calculate Overall Hospital Star Ratings. The adjustment aims to address concerns about the timeliness of Star Ratings. For the April 2025 update, October 2024 data will be used.

Data from Q1 2020 – Q2 2020 (January 2020 – June 2020) will continue to be excluded due to exceptions grated during the COVID-19 public health emergency, with the exceptions of the COMP/HIP/KNEE and OP-32 measures, which still include data from this timeframe.

Please submit questions about Overall Hospital Star Ratings through the QualityNet Question and Answer Tool here.

Exemption For Size

Hospital Outpatient Departments (HOPDs) and Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) who served fewer than 60 eligible patients in calendar year (CY) 2024 are exempt from fielding the OAS CAHPS Survey in CY 2025. If your organization qualifies for an exemption, you are required to submit a Participation Exemption Request form, which is available on the OAS CAHPS website here. Exemptions are valid for one year.

If you have any questions, please contact the OAS CAHPS Survey Coordination Team at oascahps@rti.org or 866-590-7468.

Preview Reports

Preview Reports reflecting results from the OAS CAHPS Survey for patients who had procedures from Q2 2023 – Q1 2024 (April 2023 – March 2024) are available to HOPDs and ASCs with four complete quarters of data by logging in to the OAS CAHPS website. These data will be publicly reported later this month, with the exception of Composite 3, which is only available in Preview Reports.

Please reach out to the OAS CAHPS Survey Coordination Team at oascahps@rti.org or 866-590-7468 with any questions.

Preview Reports

Preview Reports with results from the HHCAHPS Survey from Q3 2023 – Q2 2024 (July 2023 – June 2024), including Star Ratings, are available under the For HHAs tab on the HHCAHPS website. You must be logged on to view your report. These data will be displayed on Care Compare in late January 2025.

For additional information, please visit the Understanding the HHCAHPS Survey Preview Reports document on the HHCAHPS website.

Coordination Team Quarterly Review

The January 2025 HHCAHPS Coordination Team Quarterly Review (CTQR) newsletter has been published under the General Information tab on the HHCAHPS website. This quarter’s edition contains important dates and reminders for HHAs and a spotlight on the Communications Between Providers and Patients composite.

Please reach out to the HHCAHPS Survey Coordination Team at hhcahps@rti.org or 866-354-0985 if you have any questions.

Podcasts

The CAHPS Hospice Survey Project Team publishes a series of podcasts designed to educate and assist hospice organizations, which are available here. The podcasts below have been recently updated.

• Overview of Requirements
• Data Hospices Must Provide to their Survey Vendor
• The Data Collection Process
• Public Reporting of CAHPS Hospice Survey Scores

NRC Health encourages Hospices to explore these excellent resources.

Participation and Vendor Authorization

In-center hemodialysis (ICH) facilities that served 30 or more survey-eligible patients in calendar year 2024 are required to field ICH CAHPS in spring and fall of 2025 to be compliant with CMS quality reporting requirements. ICH facilities that served fewer than 30 eligible patients can participate voluntarily. A comprehensive list of eligibility requirements is available here.

Facilities participating in the 2025 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey must authorize an approved survey vendor by the February 28, 2025
deadline. Vendor authorization can be completed when logged in to the ICH CAHPS website and is only required if:

• Your organization is participating in ICH CAHPS for the first time,
• Your organization is changing to a new survey vendor, or
• Fall 2024 is listed as the ending survey period in your existing vendor authorization.

If you have questions, please reach out to the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team at ichcahps@rti.org or 866-245-8083.