Hospitals

CAHPS® Hospital Survey (HCAHPS) & Public Reporting

Latest HCAHPS News

February 28, 2012--CMS hosted a conference call/presentation earlier today to outline their plans and goals for a Dry Run of the FY2013 Hospital VBP Program.  With this Dry Run, they are simulating the calculations, models, and reporting that they will implement later this year when the first official VBP reports will be distributed to hospitals.  Among their goals for this dry run are to:  

•  Provide hospitals a better understanding of the Hospital VBP Program and how performance will be scored
• Offer hospitals an opportunity to review their data in a simulated, hospital-specific report and ask questions to clarify the Program
•  Inform hospitals of how their reports will be distributed for the FY 2013 Program

TO RETRIEVE YOUR REPORT:  Your hospital’s report will be available beginning February 29, 2012 through the QualityNet website (the same site you use to access preview reports).  Your account must have the “QIO Clinical Warehouse Feedback Reports” role in order to access this report.  You will have 30 days after receiving the report to submit comments and/or questions about Hospital VBP or the hospital-specific reports; a feedback form is provided on the QualityNet website.

TIME PERIODS:  For the purpose of this simulated report, CMS is using April 2010-December 2010 as the Performance Period, and they are using April 2008-December 2008 as the Baseline Period.  (As a reminder, for FY2013 VBP, the Performance Period is July 2011-March 2012, and the Baseline Period is July 2009-March 2010.)  When asked why they chose NOT to use the official FY2013 Baseline Period for this simulation, CMS responded that they wanted the baseline for this simulation to ‘represent the seasonality and lag’ that will be present in the FY2013 Actual Report.  Given the time periods they are using for this simulation, please do not expect that these results will match what you are currently viewing on PRCEasyView.com®.

CONTENTS:  The simulated report will include:

• An Estimated Total Performance Score, with comparisons to a State and National Average
• An Estimated Value-Based Incentive Payment Percentage
• Dimension scores for both the Clinical Process of Care Measures and the HCAHPS Measures
• Performance results and individual measure scoring for both the Clinical Process of Care Measures and the HCAHPS Measures
• Several disclaimers, including a statement reminding hospitals that “This Simulated Report does not indicate how your hospital will actually perform in the FY2013 program.”

A copy of the slides used during this call can be found here:  http://www.cms.gov/Hospital-Value-Based-Purchasing/Downloads/HVBPNPCSlides022812.pdf

If you have questions about how to retrieve your report from QualityNet, please contact the QualityNet Help Desk at (866) 288-8912 or qnetsupport@sdps.org. 

If you have questions about the content of your report or questions about VBP in general, please let us know and we’ll answer what we can. 

PRC's HCAHPS Approach and Promise 

PRC recommends sampling either hospital-wide or by discharge nursing unit, and we will work with you to identify which will best deliver actionable data for your users.  We also recommend asking patients about issues that we know have a strong relationship to feelings of patient loyalty, and we’ll learn about your hospital’s process improvement philosophy in order to recommend an appropriate survey instrument. 

For more than 30 years, we have developed expertise in conducting telephone surveys with patients, and we strongly believe it is the most reliable method for collecting responses that accurately represent the perceptions of your patient population.  This holds true for HCAHPS as well.

HCAHPS Fast Facts

Telephone Methodology and Timing of Survey Administration

• First telephone attempt must be administered 48 hours to six weeks after discharge
• A total of five attempts must be done within six weeks of initial contact
• Attempts are to be made at different times of the day, on different days of the week, and in different weeks.  The vast majority of our HCAHPS interviews are completed within 2-3 weeks after the patient has been discharged.

Data Submission

• PRC submits monthly data files through QualityNet on a quarterly basis and notifies you when your files have been submitted and accepted.  We have submitted files completely, accurately, and on time for every data submission cycle, for every client.

Public Reporting

• Results are reported as a rolling four quarters
• HCAHPS results are published quarterly; January, April, July and October

Value-Based Purchasing (VBP)  - Quality Incentive Program

• Components - Clinical Measures & HCAHPS Dimensions to end up with a Total Performance Score
• Clinical Measures count for 70% of the score and HCAHPS Dimensions the remaining 30%
• Scores from the performance period are compared to published thresholds to evaluate Achievement
• Scores from the performance period are compared to the baseline period to evaluate Improvement
• FY2013 Baseline period - July 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010
• FY2013 Performance period - July 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012
• FY2014 Baseline period – April 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010
• FY2014 Performance period – April 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012

Online Resources

HCAHPS® Online - www.HCAHPSonline.org

HCAHPS® Consumer Reporting Site - www.HospitalCompare.hhs.gov

Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS ®) - www.cahps.ahrq.gov

CMS Hospital VBP Information - https://www.cms.gov/HospitalQualityInits

CMS Hospital Compare VBP Site - http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov/staticpages/for-consumers/value-based-purchasing.aspx

FROM THE FEDERAL REGISTER:

January 13, 2011 Proposed Rule for FY 2013 -  http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-01-13/pdf/2011-454.pdf
April 29, 2011 Final Rule  for FY 2013 - http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-05-06/pdf/2011-10568.pdf
July 18, 2011 Proposed Rule for FY 2014 - http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-07-18/pdf/2011-16949.pdf