The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey is one of the most commonly used studies in patient experience research. Like fellow CAHPS® surveys, it provides a standardized model for patients to rate and assess their options for care, with HCAHPS specifically measuring inpatient hospital experience. Below are key pieces of information to know about this important survey and the difference it makes in the healthcare experience:
When did HCAHPS start?
HCAHPS was originally mandated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in 2006 with public reporting starting in 2008. New changes to the survey, dubbed HCAHPS 2.0, go into effect in 2025. View our infographic summarizing updates to the study here.
Why are HCAHPS scores important?
For both organizations and patients, HCAHPS serves as a critical measurement of patient experience performance. Survey respondents rate their perceptions of their inpatient care through 32 questions across multiple dimensions, plus up to 12 custom questions offered by survey vendors like PRC. HCAHPS scores are publicly reported by CMS for patients to view when considering options for care, while organizations enrolled in CMS’ Value Based Purchasing (VBP) program receive reimbursement tied to their survey performance—more on both these topics can be found further in this document.
Who uses HCAHPS?
HCAHPS is mandated by CMS for acute care facilities across the country to measure the quality of their patient experience. Hospitals must submit at least 300 completed surveys to CMS each year, though the number is subject to exception for Critical Access Hospitals and specialty facilities where the nature of their care makes the 300 completions/year standard more difficult to achieve. Organizations partner with CMS-approved vendors like PRC to conduct the survey with patients who meet the following criteria:
- Be 18 years of age or older
- Be treated as an inpatient with at least one overnight stay in the hospital
- Have a non-psychiatric principal diagnosis at discharge
- Not be discharged to a court or law enforcement official, hospice, nursing home, skilled nursing facility, or foreign home address
Are HCAHPS scores public?
Patients can access publicly reported HCAHPS scoring on CMS’ Hospital Compare website. CMS updates Hospital Compare on a quarterly basis, with reports including star ratings that aggregate top-box percentage across survey dimensions and questions.
How does HCAHPS affect reimbursement?
HCAHPS scores factor in VBP-enrolled organizations’ Medicare reimbursements. The Inpatient Prospective Patient System (IPPS) model bases Person and Community Engagement (PCE), the domain that makes up 25% of the scoring that determines Medicare reimbursement, on HCAHPS data—assessing current survey performance and consistency across two preceding calendar years. This scoring makes it critical for hospitals to provide excellent patient experience, both to ensure healthy patient outcomes and to support their bottom line moving forward.
PRC has partnered with hospitals and health systems to administer their HCAHPS studies since its 2006 inception, along with CMS’ full line of CAHPS® surveys. With proven methodologies for connecting with patients, PRC leads the industry in HCAHPS phone response rates, which, given the positive correlation between response rates and HCAHPS scores, positions organizations to place their best feet forward with patient ratings and VBP reimbursement. We also offer custom questions that measure for excellence in the care experience, one of the leading indicators of patient loyalty. If your organization is looking to take their HCAHPS research to the next level, contact our CAHPS® team to explore the impact PRC can bring to your patient survey data and healthcare experience as a whole.
Sources and Further Reading:
CMS’ Official HCAHPS Page
HCAHPS Online Fact Sheet
PRC’s HCAHPS Brochure
