CMS has previously implemented Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems surveys or CAHPS, for inpatient hospitals, health and drug benefit plans and home health agencies, and has developed surveys for in-center hemodialysis facilities, nursing homes and physician practices. None of these surveys, however, address experiences with ER services, the agency notes in the RFI, available here and being published December 3 in the Federal Register.
“A patient’s experience in an emergency department is an essential component of their overall health care experience in a hospital, and we believe that a patient survey evaluating such care will further support the HHS’s goals and priorities,” according to the RFI.
CMS seeks information on suggested topics for the survey such as waiting time, pain control and communication with providers, as well as publicly available instruments for capturing experiences from the perspectives of patients and caregivers (such as parents), and to track changes over time.
A 60-day comment period will begin upon publication of the request for information. CMS will submit the developed survey to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for recognition as a CAHPS survey.
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