Before the first survey was sent out, we spent more than seven years researching and interviewing more than 8,000 patients to understand what is most important to them in their healthcare experience. That work resulted in the creation of the NRC Picker Eight Dimensions of Patient-Centered Care.

These dimensions have been adopted by National Quality Forum (NQF), Institutes of Medicine (IOM), Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and other leaders in healthcare quality improvement as the definition of a patient-centered experience.

No other firm has conducted such extensive research into the patient experience which is why our survey tool is so different from others. Our unique approach led the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to base both the Hospital CAHPS (HCAHPS) and Clinician and Group CAHPS (CG-CAHPS®) surveys on the research of Picker and Harvard University and to move away from satisfaction as the standard of evaluating the patient experience. These surveys are endorsed as the national standard in measuring patient experience as an outcome of your care process.

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