Please be aware of important updates regarding the CMS Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) surveys, which were implemented on January 1, 2025.
Key Changes to CMS HCAHPS Surveys:
New Survey Content:
Beginning January 2025, CMS required a revision to survey questions designed to gather more precise and actionable data regarding patient experiences.
Expanded Focus on Health Equity:
The updated HCAHPS survey includes new questions aimed at measuring patient perceptions related to health equity.
Additional Reporting Requirements:
UTMB (like other hospitals) will be required to report additional data to CMS related to the new survey items. Over the last quarter, stakeholders revised survey questions to align data collection with new requirements, ensure compliance, maintain performance metrics, and support patient experience goals for Vizient, Magnet, and others.
Changes to Scoring Methodology:
CMS will update the way patient satisfaction scores are calculated based on the responses to the new survey items. The impact of these changes may appear to affect our satisfaction scores, and it will be crucial for us to analyze the results carefully to identify opportunities for improvement. Data comparability may differ when analyzing past data.
HCAHPS Survey Delivery Change:
CMS now allows the use of electronic surveys for official HCAHPS surveys. UTMB will move toward using electronic surveys when a valid email address and cell phone number is documented in the patient record. We are anticipating the first wave will be issued via text message with an electronic survey link.
Implementation Timeline:
All changes took effect on January 1, 2025. The first results will be available following the conclusion of the first reporting period. Information Services is currently testing these changes (testing window of January 1 – 10th) that paused our survey uploads to Press Ganey (PG) while this testing occurred. Once testing is completed and assessed for accuracy, surveys completed during this window will be uploaded to the PG database.
Action Steps:
- Socialize with your staff about these changes in survey content and methodology.
- Review current practices to ensure alignment with the new CMS guidelines.
- Monitor early results closely once the new surveys are rolled out to understand their impact and adjust where necessary.
As we move forward with these changes, our collective focus will remain on improving the patient experience, which is central to delivering quality care.
Share the survey with your teams and encourage them to complete a sample to understand what’s being asked from the patient’s perspective. Continue discussing the survey with patients and encourage them to complete it upon receipt. Should you have any questions or require additional information about the upcoming changes, please reach out to Patient Services.