HCAHPS

The HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) survey is a national, standardized, publicly reported survey of patients' perspectives of hospital care. HCAHPS (pronounced "H-caps") allows valid comparisons to be made across hospitals locally, regionally and nationally.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) implemented the HCAHPS survey in October 2006 and publishes results on the Hospital Compare website four times a year.

The HCAHPS survey asks discharged patients 27 questions about their recent hospital stay. The survey is administered to a random sample of adult patients across medical conditions between 48 hours and six weeks following discharge.