CMS Approves Home Health Vendor to Measure Patient Experiences

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved Axxess, a home health technology company, as a vendor for the Consumer Assessment of Health Providers Service (CAHPS).

Axxess, which provides consulting and software development, will use a nationally standardized methodology to measure the experiences of people receiving care from home health and hospice organizations.

Earlier this year, CMS issued a final rule calling for the nationwide rollout of the CAHPS survey, which is expected to be implemented in fiscal year 2015. It is the first nationally standardized and publicly reported survey of patient perceptions of the care provided by health care organizations and was launched to ensure quality health care through accountability and public disclosure.

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The information provided by patients through the CAHPS assessments helps home health and hospice organizations align their culture with providing quality care, improving patient outcomes and satisfaction, and showcasing the quality of their organization as reported publicly on the CMS-managed Home Health Compare website.

As part of the survey process, Axxess will also help organizations analyze, interpret and benchmark the data to ensure they are delivering high quality care.

“This is another important step in our goal of helping health care organizations deliver and measure quality care, streamline their operations and improve patient outcomes,” said John Olajide, CEO of Axxess, in a statement.

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Home health and hospice agencies certified by CMS are required to comply with CAHPS reporting guidelines or risk a 2% reduction in their reimbursement. While the CAHPS survey is required of all Medicare-certified agencies that serve 60 or more unduplicated patients a year, all home health and hospice organizations are encouraged to participate.

Written by Emily Study

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