HCAHPS, The Patient Experience, and C.A.R.E.

s_mazer_hcahps_patient_experience-2

By Susan E. Mazer, Ph.D.

Published by Healing HealthCare Systems, August 2013.

Introduction

The current HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) survey provides several insights into the patient experience, including:

How patients perceive their relationship with those who care for them
How patients experience the quality of care and caring they receive
How patients perceive the environment in which they are cared for
How patients perceive their own condition as explained to them by their caregivers

Within each of these issues, there are more specific and detailed questions on the survey that probe into the patient experience. Implicit in many of them, but not necessarily stated, is the impact of the physical environment.