HCAHPS Hospital Consumer Assessment Survey

The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) is a 27-item, CMS-mandated patient experience survey administered to a random sample of hospital inpatients after discharge. Launched in 2006 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, HCAHPS measures patient perceptions of hospital care across 10 key composites: communication with nurses, communication with physicians, responsiveness to patient needs, pain management, communication about medications, discharge information, cleanliness and quietness of the hospital environment, and overall rating of the hospital. HCAHPS is publicly reported on the CMS Hospital Compare website, incorporated into hospital payment incentive programs, and is one of the most widely recognized measures of hospital quality from the patient perspective.