CAHPS for ACOs
The Best Solution for Measuring ACO Performance
The CAHPS® for ACOs Survey is one of the quality measures Medicare Accountable Care Organizations participating in a CMS quality initiative are required to submit to CMS on an annual basis. As a CMS-approved vendor for the CAHPS for ACOs Survey, SPH Analytics understands the importance of your CAHPS for ACO survey outcomes for:
- Satisfying quality performance standards
- Representing 25% of your CMS quality performance score
- Contributing to the CMS shared savings and value-based payment adjustment
- Public reporting on the CMS Physician Compare Website
For decades SPH has worked with CMS and healthcare organizations across the nation to support their CAHPS survey administration and reporting needs. SPH clients receive exceptional customer service, guidance, and updates throughout the survey process.
The CAHPS Survey for ACOs
The CAHPS Survey for ACOs is a standardized survey program designed to measure patient experience of care for ACOs participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program and Next Generation ACO Model.
This survey is conducted for ACOs by CMS-approved survey vendors and is intended to:
- Produce comparable data on the patient’s perspective that allows objective and meaningful comparisons between ACO CAHPS®groups on areas that are important to consumers.
- Provide public reporting of survey results that will create incentives for providers to improve their quality of care.
- Enhance public accountability in health care by increasing the transparency of the quality of care provided in return for public investment
The CAHPS for ACOs survey is based on the Clinician and Group (CG CAHPS) Survey and includes additional questions specific to the goals of the ACO model. CMS has developed two versions (ACO-9 and ACO-12) of the survey. Both versions include the following nine domain areas:
- Getting Timely Care, Appointments, & Information
- How Well Providers Communicate
- Patient’s Rating of Provider
- Access to Specialists
- Health Promotion and Education
- Shared Decision Making
- Health Status & Functional Status
- Courteous & Helpful Office Staff
- Stewardship of Patient Resources
The CAHPS for ACO-12 Survey includes three additional domain areas:
- Care Coordination
- Between Visit Communication
- Helping you Take Medications as Directed
Expertise, Dependability, and Security
SPH Analytics is a CMS-approved CAHPS for Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) Survey vendor. SPH has:
- conducted CAHPS surveys since the late 1990s and ACO CAHPS surveys since the program’s inception in 2013
- a perfect CAHPS submissions record to CMS
- HITRUST and SOC 2 certification – the highest industry standards for information security
- in-house call and mail centers, providing a seamless and coordinated approach to data collection
- responsive, flexible, precise project management and customer service from the first day and continuing throughout the submission period
High Response Rates
SPH typically achieves higher response rates than industry norms (43% on average in 2019), ensuring that your survey results are truly representative of your patient population. Our 35+ years’ experience in market research ensures your survey will be administered with best practices, such as:
- utilizing in-house, experienced graphic designers to produce an attractive survey packet, with a professional layout and easy-to-read text on high quality paper
- conducting prompt and precise in-house phone-based follow-up to non-respondents
Benchmarking & Actionable Reporting
SPH offers one of the largest benchmarks in the industry for the CAHPS for ACOs survey with more than 100 ACO participants, providing timely comparisons to other ACOs across the country and enabling you to use your results for quality improvement purposes long before the release of CMS data. And your results are accessible 24/7 via the SPH web-based portal.
Our reporting provides actionable recommendations for improvement including:
- Key Driver Analysis – SPH’s POWeR Chart
- Voice of Patient – genuine input from real
patients on their perceptions and how to
address specific problems
POWeR™ Chart
The POWeR Chart shows you which items are of lesser importance to patients (left of chart) and which are of higher importance (right of chart). The upper and lower levels of the chart show how you are performing relative to the competition in those areas. Your biggest opportunities to improve and impact your scores is the bottom right quadrant.
Legend
| HPE health Promotion and Education |
| Q06 Patient got appointment for urgent care as soon as needed |
| Q08 Patient got appointment for routine care as soon as needed |
| Q10 Patient got answer to medical question the same day he/she phoned provider’s office |
| Q12 Patient got answer to medical question the same day he/she phoned provider’s office after hours |
| Q15 Patient saw provider within 15 minutes of appointment time |
| Q16 Provider explained things in a way that was easy to understand |
| Q17 Provider listened carefully to patient |
| Q19 Provider gave easy to understand information about health questions or concerns |
| Q20 Provider knew important information about patient’s medical history |
| Q21 Provider had patient’s medical records during office visit |
| Q22 Provider showed respect for what patient had to say |
| Q23 Provider spent enough time with patient |
| Q25 Provider’s office followed up with results for blood test, x-ray or other tests |
| Q25 Provider’s office followed up with results for blood test, x-ray or other tests |
| Q31 Provider gave patient easy to understand sntructions about how to take medicines |
| Q42 Clerks and receptionists at provider’s office treated patient with courtesy and respect |
| Q43 Clerks and receptionists at provider’s office treated patient with courtesy and respect |
| Q46 It was easy to get appointments with specialists |
| Q47 Specialist knew important information about patient’s medical history |
| Q53 Health care team talked with patient about all the prescription medicines he/she was taking |
| SDM shared Decision Making |
CAHPS® is a registered trademark of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
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1The CMS CAHPS for ACO final results reporting includes weighting and patient mix adjustment factors which are calculated onto the data submitted by SPH Analytics. Therefore, CMS and SPH final results data will differ.