2015 AHRQ Research Conference

AHRQ: Producing Evidence and Engaging Partners to Improve Health Care

October 4–6, 2015

The 2015 AHRQ Research Conference in Arlington, Virginia, included several sessions that highlighted research conducted as part of the CAHPS program. Information about this event is available at http://www.ahrq.gov/news/events/conference/index.html.

Preconference Session: CAHPS Research Tools and Resources

This session was devoted to helping researchers learn about the datasets and analysis tools that are available to support CAHPS-related research.

• CMS Data Sets for CAHPS Surveys – Elizabeth Goldstein, PhD, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (HTML version; PDF [PDF, 356.18 KB])
• The SEER and Medicare CAHPS Linked Dataset – Ronald Hays, PhD, RAND Corporation; University of California, Los Angeles (HTML version; PDF [PDF, 542.47 KB])
• The CAHPS Database Research Files – Janice Ricketts and Naomi Yount, PhD, Westat (HTML version; PDF [PDF, 622.08 KB])
• The CAHPS Macro Program – Kayo Walsh, Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School (HTML version; PDF [PDF, 624.63 KB])
• Caren Ginsberg, PhD, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (Moderator) (Introduction - HTML version; PDF [PDF, 600.75 KB]), (Closing  - (HTML version; PDF [PDF, 242.64 KB] )

Main Conference Sessions

The Evolution of CAHPS: A 20-Year Perspective

This session explored the twenty year history of the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey including changes over time and how the CAHPS program evolved to meet those needs. The session also described evidence of improvements in CAHPS scores over time in ambulatory and inpatient settings.

Sorting Fact From Fiction: Understanding the True Value of Patient Experience Measurement and Methodological Issues

Despite its extensive history and the rapidly growing use of CAHPS surveys in multiple health care settings for public reporting, value-based purchasing, and certification and recognition programs, significant misunderstandings and skepticism about the validity, reliability, and value of patient experience measurement still persist among some clinicians and health system leaders. The presentation identified and responded to a number of these misperceptions.

Collecting and Reporting Patient Narratives to Capture Patients' Experiences

This session examined the evolution of reporting patients' experiences and highlighted new research on using patient experience surveys to capture patient narratives.

Learn more about the CAHPS team’s research on consumer reporting at: http://ahrq.gov/cahps/consumer-reporting/research/index.html.