From March through May each year, a random sample of your Medicare Advantage patients receive the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) survey, which helps provide feedback on patients’ experiences.
Experience—not the same as satisfaction
Experience surveys focus on how patients perceived key aspects of their care, not how satisfied they were with their care. By using the information from the CAHPS survey and other health care surveys, we can work together to help improve the overall experiences of your patients.
CAHPS survey measures include the following:
| Best practices to consider | |
| Getting appointments and care quickly | Maximizing appointment availability by using nurse practitioners and physician assistants to schedule patient visits shows patients that you value their time and concerns. Have recommendations ready for alternative locations when care is urgently needed. |
| Getting needed care | Allowing patients the flexibility to make appointments and receive care in a timely manner is one way you can develop and maintain a positive health care experience. |
| Care coordination | Coordinating care among health care professionals helps improve efficiency and shows patients that you respect their time and concerns. |
| Getting needed Rx | Making it easy for your patients to get their medications is an important way to help ensure positive experiences at the pharmacy and with their Medicare Part D benefit. Help patients stick to their medication regimens: Consider prescribing long-term medication supplies (100-day or 90-day) and encouraging mail-order programs, such as through Optum Rx, to help with timely medication refills. Be sure to cancel the 30-day supply on file when rewriting a prescription for a long-term supply. |
| Doctor-patient conversations | Discussing clinical indicators of health with your patients can help you understand their perception of their health and their goals while also building trust to improve overall well-being. |
Learn more about the survey: cms.gov/data-research/research/consumer-assessment-healthcare-providers-systems
