Patient Experience

Patient Experience

Engaged patients lead to improved clinical outcomes and business outcomes. For example:

  • Patients who feel comfortable to effectively communicate with their doctors are more likely to acknowledge health problems, understand their treatment options, modify their behavior accordingly and follow their medication schedules.¹
  • Patient-centered communication has a positive impact on important outcomes, including patient satisfaction, adherence to recommended treatment and self-management of chronic disease.²
  • Patient communication improves clinical outcomes in the management of diabetes, hypertension and cancer.³
  • Engaged patients lead to increased retention.

Survey Measures Background: What Is CAHPS?

  • CAHPS surveys patients about aspects of quality, such as provider communication skills and ease of healthcare services.
  • These survey results impact the perception of the plan and medical groups, which influence the patient’s decisions.
  • CAHPS is typically mailed each year to patients between March and June.
  • The survey asks patients about aspects of quality, such as provider communication skills and ease of healthcare services.
  • The survey is overseen by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Group Best Practices

Everything we do leading up to the survey can impact the results we receive. As a provider you can:

  • Encourage patients to respond to the survey by explaining the value of their voice.
  • Incorporate a new patient onboarding program that covers important access-to-care issues, including urgent care and referrals.
  • Increase the rate of approved authorizations for routine procedures by automating the process. These may include mammograms.
  • Explain the benefit of telehealth services (i.e. SCAN’s MDLive benefit) to receive in the moment care.
  • Have an after-hour on-call system available (nurse advice line, physician on call).
  • Provide non-traditional care access options, such as an e-portal with self-service capabilities and a 24-hour nurse advice line.
  • Provide the closest urgent care in after-hours voicemail. Within CAHPS, our key measures are:
  • Care Coordination
  • Getting Appointments and Care Quickly
  • Ease of Getting Needed Care & Seeing a Specialist

¹Stewart MA. Effective physician-patient communication and health outcomes: a review. CMAJ. 1995;15(9):1423-1433.

²S, Kaplan S, Ware JE Jr.. Expanding patient involvement in care: effects on patient outcomes. Ann Intern Med. 1985;102(4):520–8.

³Doctor-patient communication and satisfaction with care in oncology. Curr Opin Oncol. 2005;17(4):351–4

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