The CAHPS Improvement Guide: Practical Strategies for Improving the Patient Care Experience 

Published in October 2003, The CAHPS Improvement Guide is a comprehensive resource for health plans and medical groups seeking to improve their performance in the domains of quality measured by the CAHPS Health Plan Survey.

You may want to use this guide to help your organization:

• Cultivate an environment that encourages and sustains quality improvement;
• Analyze the results of CAHPS surveys to identify strengths and weaknesses; and
• Develop strategies for improving performance.

The guide addresses the growing need of health care professionals to identify practical strategies for improving patients' experiences with care. The description of each potential strategy includes:

• An explanation of the problems that the strategy can address;
• An overview of the purpose of the strategy and how it can be implemented;
• A summary of pros and cons;
• Supporting evidence of its impact (where available); and
• A list of resources and literature that plans and practices can consult for more information.

This guide was developed by the Harvard CAHPS Team under a grant from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Download The CAHPS Improvement Guide.  (PDF, 5 MB; PDF Help)