Measuring Patient Experience As A Strategy For Improving Primary Care

Patients value the interpersonal aspects of their health care experiences. However, faced with multiple resource demands, primary care practices may question the value of collecting and acting upon survey data that measure patients’ experiences of care. The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) suite of surveys and quality improvement tools supports the systematic collection of data on patient experience. Collecting and reporting CAHPS data can improve patients’ experiences, along with producing tangible benefits to primary care practices and the health care system.We also argue that the use of patient experience information can be an important strategy for transforming practices as well as to drive overall system transformation. N ewmodels of organizing, delivering, and paying for primary care seek to improve the quality of care provided to patients and the experiences of clinicians. Meanwhile, research has shown that patients place much value on effective communication with their providers, the responsiveness of clinicians and staff to their needs, and an overall sense of being treated with care and respect. In recent years, much progress has beenmade in the science of measuring important aspects of the patient care experience, most notably through the development and use of the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) suite of patient experience survey tools. However, faced with multiple priorities and resource demands, health systems andprovidersmayquestion the clinical andbusiness value of collecting, analyzing, and acting upon data on patients’ experiences of care. Despite these concerns, available tools and quality improvement strategies bolster the feasibility and benefit of measuring and improving patients’ experiences of care, both for the intrinsic value conferred to patients and for the resulting enhanced work environment for clinicians and staff alike. The use of patient experience information can be an important strategy to use in driving system transformation. Such transformation will result when consumers use the information to choose their providers, when employers andpurchasers use it for payment and benefit design, and when physicians and practice administrators act on the data to improve office systems and care. What Is Patient Experience? Patient experience is a measure of patientcenteredness, one of six health care quality aims proposed by the Institute of Medicine (IOM). While “patient satisfaction” surveys obtain ratings of satisfaction with care, patient experience surveys elicit reports from patients on what they did or did not experience in their interactions with providers and the health care system. Systematicallymeasuring patient experience differs fromuser-generated reviews posted onWeb sites such as Yelp and Angie’s List, because scientifically based sampling methods enable a broader and more representative assessment of all patients in a practice and thereby provide more valid, credible data. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2010.0238