AHRQ Seeks Feedback on Proposed Update of CAHPS Clinician & Group Survey

AHRQ is inviting comments on several proposed changes to the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Clinician & Group (CG-CAHPS) Survey and the Patient-Centered Medical Home Item Set. The proposed changes are summarized in a Federal Register Notice published January 21. Comments on the proposed changesmust be received no later than 5 p.m. ET February 20. Please submit comments by email, with “CG-CAHPS Proposed Changes” in the subject line. CAHPS surveys ask consumers about their experiences with health care. The CAHPS program at AHRQ supports the development and promotion of CAHPS surveys, toolkit materials and comparative databases and provides technical assistance to users.

AHRQ’s CAHPS Consortium is currently seeking feedback on recommended changes to the CAHPS Clinician & Group (CG-CAHPS) Survey and the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Item Set. These recommendations are based on input from survey users and stakeholders as well as analyses of multiple data sets.

Read about the proposed changes and the rationale for each change. ( Proposed Changes to the CAHPS Clinician & Group Survey Jan. 2015 (PDF) [

- 1,009.23 KB] ; PDF Help)

Read a summary in the Federal Register Notice. (PDF)

Please submit any questions or comments regarding these recommendations to the CAHPS User Network atcahps1@westat.com or 1-800-492-9261.

Anticipated implementation: The final set of changes will be incorporated into a new version of the CG-CAHPS Survey (version 3.0) in mid- to late-2015.

Highlights of Proposed Changes to the CG-CAHPS Survey

The proposed changes would reduce the final core survey from 34 items to 31 items.

Survey reference time period: The period of time referenced in the survey items would be 6 months rather than 12 months (i.e., “In the last 6 months…”).
Access composite measure: This measure would be reduced from 5 items to 3 items. Two items would be moved into the supplemental item set.
Communication composite measure: This measure would be reduced from 6 items to 4 items. One item would be moved into the supplemental item set. Another item would become part of a new measure of care coordination.
Care coordination composite measure: The survey would have a new measure of care coordination that consists of three items (two from the core survey and one from the PCMH Item Set).

Highlights of Proposed Changes to the PCMH Item Set

The proposed changes to the PCMH Item Set would reduce the number of items from 18 to 6. The PCMH Survey (i.e., the 12-Month Survey plus the PCMH Item Set) would be reduced from 52 items to 37.

The 6 remaining questions would be:

Provider’s office gave you information about getting care on evenings, weekends, and holidays
Respondent saw a specialist (screener)
Provider seemed informed and up-to-date about the care you got from specialists
Someone in the provider’s office talked with you about specific goals for your health
Someone in the provider’s office talked with you about things that make it hard for you to take care of your health
Someone in the provider’s office talked with you about things in your life that worry you or cause you stress

Eight questions would be moved from the PCMH Item Set to the general set of supplemental items. One question would be moved into the core survey as part of the new composite measure for care coordination.