CMS To Create Long-Term Care Hospital Patient Satisfaction Survey

In an effort to collect more information about the quality of care Medicare beneficiaries receive at long-term care hospitals (LTCHs), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on November 20 that it is developing a new patient satisfaction survey.

The survey project is intended to achieve the aims of the National Quality Strategy—developed by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in accordance with the Affordable Care Act—which include improving the quality of care, improving the overall health of the US population, and reducing the cost of quality health care. CMS is looking to collect data on the achievement of these priorities in the LTCH setting.

CMS stated, “A rigorous, well-designed LTCH Survey will allow us to understand patient experiences throughout their LTCH care, as reported by the patients themselves, if possible, or by family members.”

Once the survey results have been collected, CMS plans to publish these results online in order to provide consumers with more information about long-term care settings and to drive improvements in care quality. The results will also be used in the development of a quality measure for the Long-Term Care Hospital Quality Reporting Program.

CMS is seeking comments on what types of data should be collected in the survey through January 19, 2016 (1.usa.gov/1QrXm0o). It has so far proposed survey topics that include communication with providers, mechanical ventilation, therapy services, wound care, pain management, rehabilitation services, and interdisciplinary team goal setting and care planning. —Kara Rosania