The National Quality Forum (NQF) first endorsed the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Surgical Care Survey (S-CAHPS) as a quality measure in May 2012 and re-endorsed the survey in June 2018. The NQF endorses quality measures through scientific and evidence-based review and a multistakeholder consensus development process with the aim of improving quality of care. Measures that are endorsed must meet NQF’s criteria, which include a rigorous review of the measure’s ability to make significant gains in health care quality, scientific acceptability, usability, feasibility, and reliability.
The following six composites and one single-item measure of the CAHPS Surgical Care Survey are used to assess a particular domain of surgical care quality from the patient’s perspective.
- Measure 1: Information to help you prepare for surgery (2 items)
- Measure 2: How well surgeon communicates with patients before surgery (4 items)
- Measure 3: Surgeon’s attentiveness on day of surgery (2 items)
- Measure 4: Information to help you recover from surgery (4 items)
- Measure 5: How well surgeon communicates with patients after surgery (4 items)
- Measure 6: Helpful, courteous, and respectful staff at surgeon’s office (2 items)
- Measure 7: Patients’ rating of surgeon (1 item)
The CAHPS Surgical Care Survey is administered to adult patients (age 18 and older) having had a major surgery as defined by CPT codes (90-day globals) within 3 to 6 months prior to the start of the survey.
The measure is endorsed for clinician-level measurement of individual clinicians and group practices in the following settings: ambulatory surgery center, office, clinic, and hospital outpatient.
View the full measure specifications and access the NQF measure description.