Home Health CAHPS (HHCAHPS)
Guidance for stakeholders on HHCAHPS (Home Health Care Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) Survey as the first national standardized and publicly reported survey of home health care patients’ perspectives of their skilled home care. The survey was nationally implemented on a voluntary basis in October 2009, and the survey was required for the Medicare annual payment update requirements beginning with a one-month dry run in the period of July-September 2010, and monthly continuous data collection beginning in October 2010.
Final
Issued by: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
Issue Date: February 11, 2020
If you have been contacted to participate in the Home Health Care CAHPS Survey and want to verify your selection in this study, please contact the approved survey vendor identified in your survey invitation letter, or email hhcahps@rti.org or call toll-free at 1-866-354-0985. |
Overview: The Home Health Care CAHPS Survey (HHCAHPS) is designed to measure the experiences of people getting home health care from Medicare-certified home health care agencies. HHCAHPS is the first national, standardized, and publicly reported survey of home health care patients’ perspectives of their skilled home care.
About the survey: HHCAHPS is fielded by approved survey vendors to a subset of patients getting home health care from Medicare-certified agencies. There are three survey modes: mail only, telephone only, and mixed mode (mail with telephone follow-up of non-respondents). Survey questions ask patients about their home health providers’ communication about their care, quality of care, and whether they’d recommend the home health agency.
How the data are used: HHCAHPS data are publicly reported on the Care Compare tool at Medicare.gov/care-compare/. Data are updated quarterly. Consumers can use publicly reported HHCAHPS survey data and Star Ratings when comparing and choosing home health agencies. Home health agencies can use HHCAHPS survey results to inform quality improvement efforts. HHCAHPS is also used in home health care quality incentive payment programs.
For more information, please visit the HHCAHPS website: https://homehealthcahps.org where you can access the Protocols and Guidelines Manual. You may also contact CMS at HomeHealthCAHPS@cms.hhs.gov or the HHCAHPS project team at hhcahps@rti.org.
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DISCLAIMER: The contents of this database lack the force and effect of law, except as authorized by law (including Medicare Advantage Rate Announcements and Advance Notices) or as specifically incorporated into a contract. The Department may not cite, use, or rely on any guidance that is not posted on the guidance repository, except to establish historical facts.