domly chooses patients that they'll contact with CMS-certified ques-
tions about their stay at the facility. Those can include anything from
the quality of communication with their doctors and nurses to the
cleanliness of the hospital or center, says Sandy Baker, senior director
of business for Research and Marketing Strategies (RMS), a CMS-cer-
tified vendor. Hospitals have the option to administer the surveys
themselves, but ASCs do not. CMS is looking for hospitals and surgery
centers to have completed surveys from 300 patients a year — or 25 a
month.
It's not yet mandatory for outpatient facilities to participate in
CAHPS. That's expected to happen in 2019, says Ken Fields of Fields
Research, a CMS-approved CAHPS vendor.
CMS calculates a score and then posts it on hospital compare or out-
patient compare websites for patients' reference. If a facility doesn't par-
ticipate, Medicare will withhold 2% of its reimbursement.
Facilities can also face scrutiny from such non-governmental organi-
zations as Leapfrog. With private companies, you don't face any mone-
tary penalties for not participating, but the results of the survey are
still made public. And although a poor grade from Leapfrog doesn't
have the power to force you to close down your facility, a low rating
from the company can still prove detrimental.
How to do well
The best way to prepare for a CAHPS survey is to familiarize your-
self with the questions, says Ms. Baker. In an outpatient survey, for
example, there are 37 questions that patients will consider when
evaluating your facility, including their preparation for the proce-
dure, the check-in and pre-op processes, and how well they're pre-
pared for at-home recovery.
The survey can be found on the outpatient CAHPS website
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