How do HCAHPS surveys relate to hospital payments?

• A. HCAHPS is a clinical outcomes registry.
• B. HCAHPS surveys are used to capture patient experience and ties to payment.
• C. HCAHPS measures physician productivity.
• D. HCAHPS is a financial audit process.

Answer: (B)

HCAHPS is tied to hospital payments because it measures patient experience and that experience is used to determine Medicare reimbursements through value-based purchasing. The survey asks patients about how well clinicians communicated, how responsive staff were, pain management, cleanliness, discharge information, and other aspects of their hospital stay. CMS uses how hospitals score on HCAHPS as part of the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing program, adjusting a portion of Medicare inpatient payments based on performance. This creates an incentive for hospitals to focus on delivering good patient experiences. It isn’t a registry of clinical outcomes, nor a measure of physician productivity, nor a financial audit process.