The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has made history by releasing the first ever Home Health Experience of Care Star Ratings.
The CMS Deputy Administrator and Chief Medical Officer Patrick Conway, M.D., MSc. stated “Having the HHCAHPS Survey star ratings on Home Health Compare helps patients and their families make more informed health care decisions and encourages home health agencies to strive for higher levels of quality and patient experience.”
The Home Health Experience of Care Star Ratings are based on the Home Health Care Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HHCAHPS). The HHCAPS surveys rate agencies from one to five stars based on data collected from the patients, or the family or friends of patients, on their experience with the agency’s caregivers.
The new CMS website allows patients to compare agencies’ survey results in the following five areas:
- Care of Patients
- Communication Between Providers and Patients
- Specific Care Issues
- Overall Rating of Care Provided by the Home Health Agency
- Survey Summary star rating
This is just the latest example of the importance of participating in the HHCAHPS program and investing in tools that help agencies compete in an era with more informed healthcare consumers.
Home health agencies should participate in HHCAHPS, even if they have a low patient census. On top of providing data for CMS to show the agency’s star rating on their new Home Health Compare site, it will standardize your agency’s data for potential partners and patients to compare your agency to others.
More information on the announcement can be found on the CMS website here.
Axxess has long been a CMS approved CAHPS vendor, providing free Star Ratings preview reports, along with analytics and benchmarking tools that help agencies improve their Star Ratings and position themselves for long-term success. Learn how Axxess can help your agency leverage CAHPS to strategically grow your business, and get a free Star Rating report for your agency here.
