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OAS CAHPS: What You Need to Know Now

Public Reporting Begins in 2018

Are you ready for Outpatient and Ambulatory Surgery Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (OAS CAHPS), the next government-mandated survey? Public reporting begins next year in 2018 for this survey for the outpatient ambulatory surgery arena so now is the time to prepare.

The survey measures patient experiences with their surgeries performed at hospital outpatient surgery departments (HOPDs) or ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). And, just as we've seen with other CAHPS surveys, the ability to create an "Always" experience for patients is what will set you apart from your competitors.

That's important because 10 million people visit Healthgrades every month to compare providers. When it comes to hospitals, consumers overwhelmingly say they're willing to go out of their way (93.4 percent) or pay more (64.9 percent) for a more highly-rated organization. Public reporting is likely to inform consumer choices in hospital outpatient departments or ambulatory surgery centers in the same way.

OAS CAHPS Implementation Timeline

The Basics

As with other CAHPS surveys that have been launched, OAS CAHPS will be organized into five specific domains, including: (1) Before your procedure, (2) About the facility and staff, (3) Communications about your procedure, (4) Your recovery, and (5) Your overall experience.

It's important to understand that the patient experience, as defined by the survey, starts at the time the decision is made to visit an outpatient facility and ends after the patient leaves. That's why pre-and post-visit phone calls are so valuable. They provide continuity of care for the episode of care as measured by the survey.

What to Do Now

Is your organization benchmarking the data that will be collected? Now is the time to establish a baseline and familiarize staff and physicians with the survey so you'll be prepared for public reporting in 2018. Have you hardwired use of Studer Group's Evidence-Based LeadershipSM framework? Tactics like Individualized Patient Care, reward and recognition, pre- and post-visit calls, and teach-backs are all powerful ways to ensure quality surgical outcomes and patient experience before, during, and after the patient's visit.

Update on CAHPS for the ED

CMS has named the CAHPS survey for the emergency department. It will be called the Emergency Department Patient Experiences with Care survey, or ED PECS. While the implementation timeline is still uncertain and an anticipated launch date has not been shared, there are steps to put in place now that make a positive impact. For more on ED tools and resources, visit StuderGroup.com/ED-Coaching.

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