From our FAQs: What if my agency isn't large enough to do 300 HHCAHPS surveys per year?

This is a question we have heard quite often lately. Many administrators and Directors of Nursing have heard that CMS wants 300 surveys completed per agency, but some agencies simply do not have the census to provide 300--even if we were to interview each patient twice. 


The official response from CMS is:


“In the proposed rule and in this final rule, we emphasized that HHAs should target 300 completes annually which averages about 25 completes a month. However, we equally emphasized that smaller agencies that are unable to reach 300 survey completes by sampling should survey all HHCAHPS eligible patients. We will accept less than 300 survey completes annually if an agency is unable to achieve that number. Compliance is based on whether the agency did the survey and followed the protocols. It is not based on the number of patients that responded to the survey.”
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-26503.pdf  
(See page 28 for the entire quote)


So, contract with an approved survey vendor, and they will complete as many surveys as possible.


For help with HHCAHPS, or to speak with an HHCAHPS expert, email inquiries@mycahps.com or call 801-293-0700.


Craig Christiansen
www.mycahps.com
www.pinnacleqi.com