(osmag.net/eXU5bJ)
or on the hospital
CAHPS website
(osmag.net/PngJ2S).
"Know what the lan-
guage is, and use that
language," says Ms.
Baker. For example, if
nurses use "pills"
when describing post-
op pain management
drugs to patients, but
surveyors ask patients if their nurses explained "pain medication" to
them, patients could say, "No," because the nurses didn't specifically
use the words "pain medication." It seems insignificant, but that sub-
tle disparity in language could result in docked points for your center,
says Mr. Fields.
For facilities that have not already started being evaluated by
CAHPS — mostly ASCs and HOPDs — start preparing now because
the program is expected to become mandatory in about a year, say
Ms. Baker and Mr. Fields.
"They want you to ace the test," says Mr. Fields of the CMS surveys
and his suggestion that ASCs start familiarizing themselves with the
survey now, which about 1,400 HOPDs and 1,000 ASCs are already
doing.
Mr. Fields has another tip for facilities looking to score well: "Make
sure your survey is conducted only via phone," he says. "It stands to
reason that people who are upset will fill out the mail survey at a
higher rate than those who are content."
Doing poorly in a single area isn't enough to drop your Leapfrog
D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 7 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 5 7
• FAMILY AFFAIR It's important to make the patient's family's experience positive.
