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CAHPS® Home Health Care Survey Communications Between Providers and Patients

CBE ID
0517-2-m
Endorsement Status
1.0 New or Maintenance
1.1 Measure Structure
1.1a Instrument or Derived Measure
1.2 Associated Instrument Lookup
Previous Endorsement Cycle
Is Under Review
Yes
Next Maintenance Cycle
Spring 2025
1.6 Measure Description

The updated Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems® (CAHPS) Home Health Care Survey, also referred as “HHCAHPS,” is a 25-item instrument. This is a standardized survey instrument and data collection methodology for measuring home health patients’ perspectives on their home health care in Medicare-certified home health care agencies. The survey is administered monthly to patients who recently received or are receiving home health care from Medicare-certified home health agencies. It is offered as mail-only, phone-only or mixed mode (mail with telephone follow-up). The survey instrument consists of 17 core questions about various aspects of their care experience, 6 demographic questions, and 2 questions determining whether a proxy respondent completed the mail survey. 

 

The HHCAHPS Survey is part of the CAHPS family of experience of care surveys. English and other translations of this survey are available at https://homehealthcahps.org/. CMS initiated national implementation of the HHCAHPS Survey in October 2009 with agencies participating on a voluntary basis prior to when quality reporting requirements for the home health annual payment update (APU) began in the third quarter of calendar year 2010. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) began publicly reporting results from the HHCAHPS Survey on Home Health Compare on the Medicare.gov website in April of 2012. HHCAHPS was linked to the quality reporting requirement for the CY 2012 APU.

1.6 Measure Description (derived)

Communications Between Providers and Patients is a multi-item measure derived from the updated CAHPS® Home Health Care Survey, also referred as “HHCAHPS.” 

 

This composite measure is based on responses collected over a 12-month period with the oldest quarter dropping off and the newest quarter being added each public reporting period. The Communications Between Providers and Patients measure is composed of responses to the following survey items: 

 

Q5.       In the last 2 months of care, how often did home health staff from this agency keep you informed about when they would arrive at your home? 

Never, Sometimes, Usually, Always

 

Q8.       In the last 2 months of care, how often did home health staff from this agency explain things in a way that was easy to understand?

Never, Sometimes, Usually, Always

 

Q9.       In the last 2 months of care, how often did home health staff from this agency listen carefully to you?

Never, Sometimes, Usually, Always

 

Q12. In the last 2 months of care, did home health staff from this agency provide your family or friends with information or instructions about your care as much as you wanted?

Yes, No, I don’t know, I did not want or need this

 

Q16. When you contacted this agency’s office, did you get the help or advice you needed?

Yes, No

Measure Specs
General Information
1.8 Level of Analysis
1.9 Care Setting
1.10 Measure Rationale

One of the goals of the CMS National Quality Strategy is to foster engagement and to bring the voices of patients to the forefront.  As part of fostering engagement, it is critical to hear the voice of individuals by obtaining feedback from them on home health agency performance and incorporating it as part of CMS’s comprehensive approach to quality. Patient-centeredness is a central goal of home health care and can be directly measured through surveys of home health patients. 

AHRQ and the CAHPS grantees developed the Home Health CAHPS® Survey, a component of the Home Health Quality Reporting Program (HHQRP), to ensure that an assessment of the patient-centeredness of care would be included to monitor home health agency performance, promote quality improvement, and inform consumer decision making in the selection of a home health agency via public reporting of results. The HHCAHPS Survey is a standardized survey instrument and data collection methodology for measuring home health patients’ perspectives on their home health care in Medicare-certified home health care agencies. The survey is administered monthly to patients who recently received or are receiving home health care from Medicare-certified home health agencies.

1.10 Measure Rationale (derived)

The HHCAHPS Survey Communications Between Providers and Patients measure assesses how often home health agency staff kept the patient informed about when they would arrive at their home, how often staff explained things in a way that was easy to understand, how often staff listened carefully to the patient, whether staff gave the patient’s family or friends information or instructions about their care as much as they wanted, and whether the patient got the help or advice they needed when they contacted the agency’s office. 

 

This measure reflects patient experiences with their home health agency across a variety of domains that were identified as important to patients and stakeholders based on focus groups and cognitive interviews during the questionnaire revision development phase. This measure will be publicly reported on Medicare.gov Care Compare tool to help agencies with quality improvement and increase quality transparency to consumers.

1.20 Types of Data Sources
1.20c Format: Patient-Reported Data and/or Survey Data
Non-digital
1.25 Data Source Details

Not Applicable