Home Health Care CAHPS Survey of Patient Experience
Moving the needle on the HHCAHPS in home health requires a targeted approach to implementing standard care practices, prioritizing education for clinicians, patients, and caregivers, and emphasizing patient satisfaction. For improved outcomes, consider these action steps…
The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) Home Health Care Survey, referred to as the “Home Health Care CAHPS Survey” or “HHCAHPS,” is designed to measure the experiences of people receiving home health care from Medicare-certified home health agencies. HHCAHPS data is publicly reported and designed to influence quality improvement and patient decision-making. The scoring is measured using the 5-star system and reported on Medicare’s Care Compare.
The Home Health Care Survey produces the following measures of patient experience:
- Care of patients
- Communication between providers and patients
- Specific care issues
- Rating of care provided by the agency
- Willingness to recommend the agency to friends and family
The full HHCAHPS questionnaire can be found at HOME HEALTH CARE CAHPS® SURVEY 2025. To improve HHCAHPS scores, home health agencies should focus on communication, patient experience, and staff training. By communicating effectively with patients and their families, prioritizing patient satisfaction, and ensuring staff are adequately trained, agencies can improve their HCAHPS scores and enhance overall patient care.
Agencies must focus on implementing standard practices such as HHCAHPS educational tools and guidelines for both clinicians and patients.
Key Focus for Improving HHCAHPS:
- Clinician Education
- Incorporate HHCAHPS into your agency’s orientation
- Routinely educate your team on key HHCAHPS questions
- Train clinicians to use phrases and verbiage within the survey when speaking to patients during their visits.
- Example: Train clinicians to use phrases such as “the PURPOSE for your new or changed medication is…….”
- Share patient feedback and surveys with your team routinely
- Celebrate the wins! When clinicians receive positive feedback in areas that could impact your HHCAHPS, be sure to celebrate and praise!
- Patient and Caregiver Education
- Begin education with patient upon admission related to HHCAHPS. You can include a brief educational tool in your agency’s start of care packet that gives an overview of HHCAHPS and its importance. Preface that your agency “wants to ensure the highest quality of care and values their patient’s feedback”.
- Use verbiage and phase from questions in the HHCAHPS survey when speaking to and educating patients during their visits.
Struggling with CAHPS® Home Health Care Survey Outcomes? Contact Proactive for support.
Written by:
Nichole McClain, RN
Principal Consultant of Home Health Services
Contact Proactive to learn more about Five-Star Improvement support services and develop a road map to Five-Star success in 2025.