Why should I focus on the patient experience in my medical group practices?
Because it is the right thing to do.

We’ve never met a physician that would be satisfied with providing their patients with good clinical care yet leaving them feeling scared, confused and disempowered. Providing an exceptional patient experience leads to improved communication between doctors and patients, better adherence to treatment plans, lower risk of malpractice suits, increased patient loyalty and patient referrals to the practice. Improving your patient experience will lead to increased staff and physician satisfaction within the practice.

What is CG-CAHPS®?
CG-CAHPS or the Clinician and Group CAHPS Survey is a standardized evaluation of a patient’s experience with his or her physician and clinic staff. The survey has been in the public domain for several years and has three versions, covering general practitioners and specialists.

Is CG-CAHPS a government mandate now?
The simple answer is that it is not a mandate today and we do not know when or if that will change. We believe CG-CAHPS will gain increasing traction over the next year. Throughout 2009, we have seen a flurry of legislative proposals to improve healthcare quality and delivery, all the while reforming the current payment system. Some of these proposals have included measuring the patient experience at the physician and medical group level as an indicator of quality and a condition of reimbursement to align physician and hospital quality programs. It’s likely CG-CAHPS will gain increasing traction over the next year and understanding what your patients think of their experience today is better than waiting to see your results on the first public report.

Are there any regional initiatives around measuring patient experience during physician visits?
States such as California, Massachusetts and Minnesota have measured their patients experience with medical groups and publicly published these scores on state quality reporting Web sites. Payers in states like California and Massachusetts have taken these results and used them to calculate pay for performance incentives. Individual payers like Blue Cross Blue Shield have done surveys of their customers’ experiences with physicians and made these results public to their members. The next step is to develop a national program that will mirror the transparency that exists today with hospitals on the physician and medical group side.

Why should I measure with CG-CAHPS?
If HCAHPS has taught us anything, it’s that it is important to educate your doctors and nurses about the performance standards they are expected to meet and the questions that will be used to evaluate them before a survey program becomes public and mandatory. That will help you succeed so much more than waiting until the last minute to begin paying attention.

Many hospital CEOs believed that HCAHPS would never take hold and become mandatory. In March 2008, more than 3,700 hospitals publicly reported their results. Physicians and clinic administrators should learn from the mistakes of their peers.

How does CG-CAHPS relate to HCAHPS – if at all?
Both surveys were developed by stakeholders in coordination with AHRQ and ask patients to remember their “experience” and whether the right staff behaviors occurred “always” or “completely”. HCAHPS and CG-CAHPS cover some similar themes like communication, information and education, courtesy and respect and areas specific to the clinical process like pain management for hospitals and access for physicians. The two tools can be used by integrated providers to create a single view of the patients’ experience across the service areas of a health system.

How can NRC Picker help me with CG-CAHPS?
NRC Picker has been measuring patient experience and provider behaviors for more than 20 years. We survey your patients to provide a clear view of physician and clinic level performance and help you to develop and execute quality improvement plans to help you reach your goals. By focusing on what is most important to your patients and what behaviors are evaluated in CG-CAHPS, NRC Picker will help you provide an exceptional care experience and that will improve your survey performance and truly deliver patient-centered care. 

How does patient loyalty impact selection of a physician?
In a study on the effects of a patient’s experience with their physician or clinic, nearly 50 percent of patients who had a negative experience chose not to complain openly to their doctor, clinic or health plan. However, 96 percent of those patients who had a negative experience stated they were likely to tell at least 10 other people they know about what happened. In today’s social media world, that number may be far greater than 10. Imagine the damage that “word of mouth” could have on the loyalty of your current patients and those in the process of choosing a doctor to treat them. Patient loyalty is the best indicator of the health of a medical practice.

If you would like to talk about measuring the patient experience in your physician practice or learn more about CG-CAHPS, please contact Gregg Loughman at 800-388-4264 or gloughman@nrcpicker.com.

CAHPS® is a registered trademark of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a U.S. Government agency.