Quick Links: Overview | A Note About HCAHPS “Boxes” | Summary of HCAHPS Survey Results Table | HCAHPS Percentiles Table | HCAHPS Patient-Level Correlations Table | HCAHPS Hospital Characteristics Comparison Charts | HCAHPS Survey Individual Question Top-Box Scores | HCAHPS Service Line Benchmark Top-Box Scores | HCAHPS Response Rate by Survey Mode
HCAHPS Tables on HCAHPS On-Line
HCAHPS On-Line, the official HCAHPS Web site, houses a series of tables that summarize current and historic HCAHPS results. These HCAHPS Tables, available exclusively on HCAHPS On-Line, are based on the HCAHPS data participating hospitals submit to CMS. Before being publicly reported, data are adjusted for the effects of patient-mix and mode of survey administration. More information regarding patient-mix and survey mode adjustment can be found by clicking here.
To view the full set of current results on each HCAHPS measure for individual hospitals, please visit the "Survey of Patients' Hospital Experiences" section of the Hospital Compare Website (www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare).
HCAHPS results are publicly reported on Hospital Compare as “top-box,” “bottom-box” and “middle-box” scores. The “top-box” is the most positive response to HCAHPS Survey items. The “top-box” response is “Always” for four HCAHPS composites (Communication with Nurses, Communication with Doctors, Responsiveness of Hospital Staff, and Communication about Medicines) and two individual items (Cleanliness of Hospital Environment and Quietness of Hospital Environment), “Yes” for the Discharge Information composite, “‘9’ or ‘10’ (high)” for the Overall Hospital Rating item, “Definitely yes” for the Recommend the Hospital item, and “Strongly agree” for the Care Transition composite.
The “bottom-box” is the least positive response category for HCAHPS Survey items. The “bottom-box” response is “Sometimes or Never” for four HCAHPS composites (Communication with Nurses, Communication with Doctors, Responsiveness of Hospital Staff, and Communication about Medicines) and two individual items (Cleanliness of Hospital Environment and Quietness of Hospital Environment), “No” for the Discharge Information composite, “‘6’ or lower (low)” for the Overall Hospital Rating item, “‘Definitely No’ and ‘Probably No’” for the Recommend the Hospital item, and “‘Strongly disagree’ and ‘Disagree’” for the Care Transition composite.
The “middle-box” captures intermediate responses to HCAHPS Survey items. The “middle-box” response is “Usually” for four HCAHPS composites (Communication with Nurses, Communication with Doctors, Responsiveness of Hospital Staff, and Communication about Medicines) and two individual items (Cleanliness of Hospital Environment and Quietness of Hospital Environment), “‘7’ or ‘8’ (medium)” for the Overall Hospital Rating item, “Probably yes” for the Recommend the Hospital item, and “Agree” for the Care Transition composite. There is no “middle-box” response in the Discharge Information composite.
Summary of HCAHPS Survey Results Table
The Summary of HCAHPS Survey Results Table contains the average "top-box" scores for each of the ten HCAHPS measures at the state and national level. For example, the column labeled "Comm. with Nurses" displays the percent of patients who reported that their nurses "Always" communicated well. Also displayed are the number of participating hospitals and the survey response rate for hospitals in each state and in the nation.
In addition to the current public reporting period table, we provide an archive of results from each previous public reporting period. Updated quarterly.
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- Please click here to view previous Summary of HCAHPS Survey Results Tables
Key percentiles are displayed in the HCAHPS Percentiles Table for each of the ten publicly reported HCAHPS measures. Both “top box” (most positive) and “bottom box” (least positive) values are shown at the 5th, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, and 95th percentiles. Using the HCAHPS Percentiles Table, one can easily see where a hospital’s “top-box” and “bottom-box” score place it relative to other hospitals on each HCAHPS measure.
The "top-box" score indicates how often patients selected the most positive response category when asked about their hospital experience. The higher a hospital’s "top-box" score, the higher it ranks among participating hospitals.
The "bottom-box" score, on the other hand, reflects how frequently patients chose negative responses when asked about their hospital experience. Low "bottom-box" scores, and thus a low percentile rank, indicate that a relatively small percentage of a hospital’s patients responded negatively about their hospital experience. Conversely, a hospital with a high "bottom-box" score, and thus a high percentile rank, had a relatively large percentage of patients who were critical of their hospital experience.
Please note that while a high "top-box" score is usually associated with a low "bottom-box" score, this is not always the case for a specific hospital. This is because for all HCAHPS measures except Discharge Information, there is also a "middle-box" category, such as "Usually," that varies in size.
In addition to the percentiles table for the current public reporting period, we provide an archive of results from each previous public reporting period. Updated quarterly.
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Previous Tables:
- Please click here to view previous HCAHPS Percentile Tables
HCAHPS Patient-Level Correlations Table
The HCAHPS Patient-Level Correlations Table presents inter-correlations of the ten publicly reported HCAHPS measures. These patient-level Pearson correlations are calculated from linear means for the ten HCAHPS measures. Patient-level equivalents were created for each of the six hospital composite measures; the remaining four measures are individual items. The current HCAHPS Correlations Table is based on 2.3 million completed surveys from patients discharged between July 2022 and June 2023.
Patient-level, inter-item correlations can be helpful in quality improvement efforts by identifying "key drivers." For instance, "key driver" analyses sometimes use patient-level associations to predict global items, such as ratings and recommendations, from more specific patient experience measures, such as composites and individual items. The HCAHPS Patient-Level Correlations Table will be refreshed on an annual basis.
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- Please click here to view previous HCAHPS Patient-Level Correlations Tables
HCAHPS Hospital Characteristics Comparison Charts
The HCAHPS Hospital Characteristics Comparison Charts depict hospital performance on each of the ten publicly reported HCAHPS measures by hospital Region, Bed Size, Teaching Status, Ownership and Control, and Location, as well as national results for each measure. The charts allow users to see how hospitals that differ on these specific characteristics perform on HCAHPS. The ten charts include Communication with Nurses, Communication with Doctors, Responsiveness of Hospital Staff, Communication about Medicines, Cleanliness of Hospital Environment, Quietness of Hospital Environment, Discharge Information, Overall Rating of Hospital, Recommend the Hospital, and Care Transition, as well as an explanatory Appendix.
For each hospital characteristic (for example, “Location”), the chart displays the average scores of hospitals in each category of that characteristic (for example, “Rural” and “Urban”). Average scores are calculated for “top-box,” “middle-box,” and “bottom-box” HCAHPS measures; see above for more information about HCAHPS “boxes.” For example, hospitals with Bed Size between 6 and 24 had an average “top-box” score on Communication with Nurses of 86%, while hospitals with more than 500 beds had an average score of 75%. The charts also display the number of hospitals and completed surveys for each hospital characteristic category.
Please note that while the HCAHPS Hospital Characteristics Comparison Charts presented here resemble those in the CAHPS® Hospital Survey Chartbook of 2007 and 2008, direct comparison with these Chartbooks is not advised because of differences in measure calculation and patient-mix adjustment.
For details and further explanation of hospital characteristic categories, please refer to the Appendix that accompanies the HCAHPS Hospital Characteristics Comparison Charts.
The HCAHPS Hospital Characteristics Comparison Charts are based upon inpatient discharges from July 2022 through June 2023, publicly reported on Care Compare in Spring of 2024. The hospital characteristics (Region, Bed Size, etc.) are derived from a survey of hospitals conducted by the American Hospital Association (AHA). Please note that not all hospitals provided answers to every question and differences in category totals may be seen. These charts are updated annually.
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Previous Charts:
- Please click here to view previous HCAHPS Hospital Characteristics Comparison Charts
HCAHPS Survey Individual Question Top-Box Scores
The HCAHPS Survey Individual Question Top-Box Scores Table contains the national average “top-box” score for each of the 15 individual survey questions that are used to form the six HCAHPS composite measures.
Please note: Individual question scores are presented for informational purposes only; they are not official HCAHPS measures. The simple average of the individual questions that comprise a composite measure may not always match the published national average for that composite.
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Previous Tables:
- Please click here to view previous HCAHPS Survey Individual Question Top-Box Scores Tables
HCAHPS Service Line Benchmark Top-Box Scores
The HCAHPS Service Line Benchmark Top-Box Scores Tables calculate benchmarks for “top-box” scores for each service line included in the HCAHPS Survey: Medical, Surgical, and Maternity. The Service Line Benchmark tables provide the percentile distributions, mean, and standard deviation of top-box scores for publicly reported HCAHPS measures within each of the three service lines. These tables permit a hospital to assess its performance in each service line relative to that of other hospitals.
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HCAHPS Response Rate by Survey Mode
The HCAHPS Response Rate by Survey Mode table displays the response rate of hospitals that used the Mail Only, Telephone Only, or Mixed Mode (mail followed by telephone contact for non-respondents) in a recent four-quarter roll-up. Mode-specific response rates are shown at the 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles. These percentiles allow a hospital to compare its own response rate, which can be found on the Care Compare Web site (https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/?providerType=Hospital) under “Patient Survey Rating,” to other hospitals that employ the same mode.
Hospitals whose response rate falls below the 50th percentile should consider taking steps to improve (see podcast: https://hcahpsonline.org/en/podcasts/#improve). We encourage all hospitals to examine how well their survey mode resonates with the patient population they serve (see podcast: https://hcahpsonline.org/en/podcasts/#ImprovingRepresentativeness).
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This page was last modified on (10/30/24)