In April 2025, CMS implemented updates to their CAHPS® Hospice survey for families of deceased patients. The changes sought to make the survey more concise and question wording clearer, while also adjusting the survey modes and administration to strengthen data collection and reporting. The following outlines the biggest changes to this somber-yet-important survey:
Survey Content
The revised CAHPS Hospice survey reduces the number of questions from 47 to 38. Removed measures include questions that asked about:
- Confusing/contradictory information given
- Pain medicine
- Trouble breathing
- Restlessness/agitation
- Nursing home-related matters
- CAHPS consent to share (no longer required by CMS)
In their place, CMS added new questions that measure:
- Hospice team respecting the patient’s wishes
- Hospice team listening to what mattered
- Family members being taught how to care for the patient
Data from the newly added survey measures will be added to public reporting once enough responses have been collected. CMS also revised existing survey questions to simplify wording in an effort to reduce the cognitive burden on grieving caregivers.
Survey Administration and Mode
While PRC still recommends the phone methodology for the greatest response rates, CMS now also allows the web-mail mode for CAHPS Hospice surveys and will provide mode adjustments as such. With the web-mail mode, organizations will now be able to offer the survey in additional languages, expanding from English and Spanish to include Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Polish, and Korean. Regardless of survey mode employed, CMS has also extended the response collection from 42 days to 49 and requires a pre-notification letter to be sent seven days prior to survey administration.
How Can PRC Help?
PRC is proud to have been approved as a Hospice CAHPS survey partner since the program’s introduction in 2015 and is qualified to conduct the survey by telephone. Contact the CAHPS team at [email protected] if you have any further questions about updates to CAHPS Hospice or any other CAHPS surveys, or to speak with an expert about conducting your CAHPS Hospice research with PRC.
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