Emergency Department Patient Experience of Care Survey: Development and Field Test

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Patient Experience Measurement
• Healthcare Quality Improvement

Background:

• The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) utilize Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) surveys to evaluate patient experiences.
• Existing CAHPS surveys may not fully capture the nuances of emergency department (ED) care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and field test a new Emergency Department Patient Experience of Care Survey.
• To develop reliable measures of patient experience in the ED setting.

Main Methods:

• RAND researchers developed three survey instruments based on CAHPS principles.
• A field test was conducted in 12 hospitals with 4,101 adult ED patients between late 2013 and early 2014.

Main Results:

• The survey identified four composite measures and ten single-item measures of patient experience.
• Data from 4,101 ED patients were analyzed to validate the survey instruments.

Conclusions:

• The developed Emergency Department Patient Experience of Care Survey shows promise for assessing patient experiences.
• Further testing by CMS is planned to refine these instruments for broader use.