National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
Latest available findings on quality of and access to health care
Data
- Data Infographics
- Data Visualizations
- Data Tools
- Data Innovations
- All-Payer Claims Database
- Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP)
- Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
- AHRQ Quality Indicator Tools for Data Analytics
- State Snapshots
- United States Health Information Knowledgebase (USHIK)
- Data Sources Available from AHRQ
Search All Research Studies
Topics
- Clinician-Patient Communication (1)
- Communication (1)
- (-) Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) (10)
- Disparities (1)
- Health Information Technology (HIT) (1)
- Health Status (1)
- Health Systems (1)
- Home Healthcare (1)
- Hospitals (3)
- Medicare (4)
- Patient Experience (7)
- Payment (1)
- Primary Care (1)
- (-) Provider Performance (10)
- Quality Improvement (2)
- Quality Indicators (QIs) (2)
- Quality Measures (5)
- (-) Quality of Care (10)
- Racial and Ethnic Minorities (1)
AHRQ Research Studies
Sign up: AHRQ Research Studies Email updates
Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 10 of 10 Research Studies DisplayedSchwartz ML, Rahman M, Thomas KS
Consumer selection and home health agency quality and patient experience stars.
The objective of this study was to compare the impact of the introduction of two distinct sets of star ratings, quality of care, and patient experience, on home health agency (HHA) selection. The investigators concluded that the introduction of quality of care and patient experience stars were associated with changes in HHA selection; however, the strength of these relationships was weaker than observed in other health care settings where a single star rating was reported.
AHRQ-funded; HS026440.
Citation: Schwartz ML, Rahman M, Thomas KS .
Consumer selection and home health agency quality and patient experience stars.
Health Serv Res 2022 Feb;57(1):113-24. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.13867..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Home Healthcare, Patient Experience, Quality Measures, Quality of Care, Provider Performance, Quality Indicators (QIs)
Quigley DD, Elliott MN, Slaughter ME
Shadow coaching improves patient experience with care, but gains erode later.
Health care organizations strive to improve patient care experiences. Some use one-on-one provider counseling (shadow coaching) to identify and target modifiable provider behaviors. In this study, the investigators examined whether shadow coaching improved patient experience across 44 primary care practices in a large urban Federally Qualified Health Center. The investigators concluded that shadow coaching improved providers' overall performance and communication immediately after being coached.
AHRQ-funded; HS025920.
Citation: Quigley DD, Elliott MN, Slaughter ME .
Shadow coaching improves patient experience with care, but gains erode later.
Med Care 2021 Nov;59(11):950-60. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001629..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Patient Experience, Provider Performance, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Primary Care
Roberts ET, Song Z, Ding L
Changes in patient experiences and assessment of gaming among large clinician practices in precursors of the merit-based incentive payment system.
Medicare's Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), a public reporting and pay-for-performance program, adjusts clinician payments based on publicly reported measures that are chosen primarily by clinicians or their practices. Within precursor programs of the MIPS, this study examined 1) practices' selection of Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) patient experience measures for quality scoring under pay-for-performance and 2) the association between mandated public reporting on CAHPS measures and performance on those measures.
AHRQ-funded; HS026727.
Citation: Roberts ET, Song Z, Ding L .
Changes in patient experiences and assessment of gaming among large clinician practices in precursors of the merit-based incentive payment system.
JAMA Health Forum 2021 Oct;2(10). doi: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2021.3105..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Patient Experience, Medicare, Provider Performance, Payment, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Fowler FJ, Brenner PS, Hargraves JL
Comparing web and mail protocols for administering Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems surveys.
This study’s objective was to compare results of using web-based and mail HCAHPS data collection protocols. The cohort included patients who were hospitalized in a New England Hospital. Patients who provided email addresses were randomized to 1 of 3 data collection protocols: web-only, web with postal mail follow-up, and postal mail only. Those who did not provide email addresses were surveyed by postal mail only. The study lasted 8 weeks. Measures looked at included response rates, characteristics of respondents, 6 composite measures of their patient experiences, and two ratings of the hospital. Web-only response rates were significantly lower than for mail or combined protocols, and those who had not provided email addresses also had lower response rates. Older adults over age 65 were more likely to respond to all protocols, especially for mail-only respondents. Respondents without email addresses were older, less educated, and reported worse health than those who had email addresses.
AHRQ-funded; HS016978.
Citation: Fowler FJ, Brenner PS, Hargraves JL .
Comparing web and mail protocols for administering Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems surveys.
Med Care 2021 Oct;59(10):907-12. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001627..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Hospitals, Health Information Technology (HIT), Quality Measures, Provider Performance, Quality of Care
Meyers DJ, Rahman M, Mor V
Association of Medicare Advantage Star Ratings with racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in quality of care.
This cross-sectional study looked at racial/ethnic minority and socioeconomic disparities in ratings for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, which disproportionately enroll these populations. A total of 1,578,564 enrollees were included in this analysis that used 22 measures of quality and satisfaction at the individual enrollee level, aggregated into simulated star ratings from 2-5 stratified by socioeconomic status (SES) and race/ethnicity. Low SES enrollees had simulated stratified star ratings 0.5 stars lower than individuals with high SES in the same contract. Black enrollees had simulated star ratings that were 0.3 stars lower and Hispanic enrollees had 0.1 lower simulated star ratings than White enrollees in the same contract. There was a larger difference in ratings with 4.5 to 5-star contracts with Black and Hispanic enrollees with Whites, and no statistical difference in 2.0 to 2.5 star-rated contracts. There was only low correlation between simulated ratings for enrollees of low SES and high SES.
AHRQ-funded; HS02705101.
Citation: Meyers DJ, Rahman M, Mor V .
Association of Medicare Advantage Star Ratings with racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in quality of care.
JAMA Health Forum 2021 Jun;2(6):e210793..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Medicare, Patient Experience, Disparities, Quality Measures, Provider Performance, Quality of Care, Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Short MN, Ho V
Weighing the effects of vertical integration versus market concentration on hospital quality.
Provider organizations are increasing in complexity, as hospitals acquire physician practices and physician organizations grow in size. At the same time, hospitals are merging with each other to improve bargaining power with insurers. In this study, the investigators analyzed 29 quality measures reported to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Hospital Compare database for 2008 to 2015 to test whether vertical integration between hospitals and physicians or increases in hospital market concentration influenced patient outcomes.
AHRQ-funded; HS024727.
Citation: Short MN, Ho V .
Weighing the effects of vertical integration versus market concentration on hospital quality.
Med Care Res Rev 2020 Dec;77(6):538-48. doi: 10.1177/1077558719828938.
.
.
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Quality of Care, Patient Experience, Hospitals, Medicare, Provider Performance, Health Systems
Ahluwalia SC, Damberg CL, Haas A
How are medical groups identified as high-performing? The effect of different approaches to classification of performance.
The researchers examined how different classification approaches influence which providers are designated as "high-performers.” They found that classification of medical groups as high performing is sensitive to the domains of performance included, the classification approach, and the choice of threshold. They further suggest that the absence of a consistently applied approach to identifying high performers impedes efforts to reliably compare, select and reward high-performing providers.
AHRQ-funded; HS024067.
Citation: Ahluwalia SC, Damberg CL, Haas A .
How are medical groups identified as high-performing? The effect of different approaches to classification of performance.
BMC Health Serv Res 2019 Jul 18;19(1):500. doi: 10.1186/s12913-019-4293-9..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Patient Experience, Provider Performance, Quality of Care, Quality Measures
Cefalu MS, Elliott MN, Setodji CM
Hospital quality indicators are not unidimensional: a reanalysis of Lieberthal and Comer.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the dimensionality of hospital quality indicators treated as unidimensional in a prior publication. The investigators found that there were four underlying dimensions of hospital quality: patient experience, mortality, and two clinical process dimensions. They concluded that hospital quality should be measured using a variety of indicators reflecting different dimensions of quality.
AHRQ-funded; HS016980; HS016978.
Citation: Cefalu MS, Elliott MN, Setodji CM .
Hospital quality indicators are not unidimensional: a reanalysis of Lieberthal and Comer.
Health Serv Res 2019 Apr;54(2):502-08. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.13056..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Hospitals, Patient Experience, Provider Performance, Quality of Care, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures
Hays RD, Mallett JS, Haas A
Associations of CAHPS composites with global ratings of the doctor vary by Medicare beneficiaries' health status.
This study examines whether the association of care coordination with global ratings of one's personal doctor varies by number of chronic conditions and self-rated health. Results were consistent with the hypothesis that patients in worse health weigh care coordination more heavily in global physician assessments than patients in better health. Emphasis on improving care coordination, especially for patients in poorer health, may improve patients' overall assessments of their providers.
AHRQ-funded; HS016980; HS025920.
Citation: Hays RD, Mallett JS, Haas A .
Associations of CAHPS composites with global ratings of the doctor vary by Medicare beneficiaries' health status.
Med Care 2018 Aug;56(8):736-39. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000942..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Quality of Care, Health Status, Medicare, Provider Performance
Quigley DD, Martino SC, Brown JA
Evaluating the content of the communication items in the CAHPS clinician and group survey and supplemental items with what high-performing physicians say they do.
The authors examined the content of the CAHPS® Clinician and Group Survey and found that the survey items captured many of the most commonly mentioned doctor-patient communication behaviors and practices identified by high-performing physicians. However, three key aspects of communication--nonverbal communication, greeting patients, and tracking personal information about patients--were not captured by the current survey.
AHRQ-funded; HS016980.
Citation: Quigley DD, Martino SC, Brown JA .
Evaluating the content of the communication items in the CAHPS clinician and group survey and supplemental items with what high-performing physicians say they do.
Patient. 2013;6(3):169-77. doi: 10.1007/s40271-013-0016-1..
Keywords: Communication, Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Quality of Care, Clinician-Patient Communication, Provider Performance