Patient Satisfaction and H-CAHPS

In recent years, Minnesota hospitals have led the nation in making health care information available to the public. People are able to make more informed decisions when hospitals publicly report clinical quality outcomes, mortality rates, errors and other information.

You can find out how patients rate their experience at hundreds of hospitals throughout the country, including St. Joseph’s, St. John’s and Woodwinds hospitals. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has published a report, commonly called H-CAHPS, that summarizes information from patient satisfaction surveys. You can find this public report at www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov.

What is H-CAHPS?

H-CAHPS stands for Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems. It is an initiative that makes "apples-to-apples" comparisons to help you make health care choices.

The H-CAHPS survey includes 27 mandated questions. Five are demographic questions, and 22 evaluate the patient’s perception of the care they received from their hospital.

Data is reported individually by hospital. Data for the first reporting period was collected between October 2006 and June 2007. After the initial reporting in March 2008, reports will be updated quarterly.

How is the survey done?

An independent survey company:

1. Randomly selects from all inpatient medical, surgical and childbirth patients
2. Mails out and collects the surveys
3. Records the results
4. Submits the data to CMS

How has HealthEast been measuring patient satisfaction?

HealthEast has been measuring satisfaction with patient satisfaction surveys since 1999 and currently uses that data to improve our patients’ experiences.

Are new customer service initiatives underway at HealthEast?

Yes! We’re continuing to work hard to give the best patient experience, with improved customer service and better patient communication to name a few.

If you have questions

To speak with a HealthEast representative about H-CAHPS, call 651-232-5204.