Learn about CAHPS
CAHPS stands for Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems. It’s a series of national standardized surveys that ask patients and consumers to report on and evaluate their experiences with health care. The WEA Trust participated in the survey that is for commerical plans. Health plans that participate in CAHPS must follow a strict set of rules for administering the survey to ensure a fair comparison of results. Chamberlain Research Consultants of Madison, a certified CAHPS survey vendor, administers the survey for the Trust.
What topics are included in the CAHPS questionnaire?
The questionnaire is divided into four parts:
• Your Health Care
• Your Personal Doctor
• Getting Health Care from Specialists
• Your Health Plan
For each of these sections, respondents answer a variety of questions related to their experiences and then give an overall rating for that aspect of their health care on a scale from 0 to 10.
How many Trust health plan members completed the survey?
A random sampling of 1,100 of our members received a paper version of the CAHPS questionnaire in winter and spring 2008. Our survey vendor, Chamberlain Research, received 643 completed surveys from Trust health plan members, a 58.8% response rate. The average response rate nationally was 36%.
Who oversees CAHPS?
The U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) funds and administers the CAHPS surveys. AHRQ is the nation’s lead federal agency for research on health care quality, costs, outcomes, and patient safety.
What happens to CAHPS results?
Health plans that participate in CAHPS can submit their results to the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), which details clinical quality and members’ satisfaction rates in a national database called Quality CompassŪ. Health plans, employers, and media use Quality Compass to compare health plans’ quality and customer service scores. NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality.
Why is CAHPS important?
The CAHPS survey is a valuable tool for comparing health plans. Each health plan that participates in CAHPS must include the same standard questions on the survey and administer their surveys in the same fashion. CAHPS captures not only the respondents’ views of their health care but also their experiences with their insurance, including claims processing and customer service. |
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