What is the HCAHPS survey?The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey was developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) to measure aspects of the patient experience that aren’t addressed by medical outcomes data. This particular survey includes two general questions that ask patients to rate their overall hospital experience and their willingness to recommend BWH to other patients and two or more questions in each of the following seven quality-of-care categories: - communication with doctors
- communication with nurses
- responsiveness of hospital staff
- cleanliness and quietness of hospital environment
- pain management
- communication about medicines
- discharge information
Patient satisfaction is a significant part of the overall health care experience. We not only want medical care to be safe and effective, but we also want our patients’ entire stay to be as satisfying as possible. That’s why we want to know whether the room was clean and quiet and whether our staff was attentive to the patient’s needs. How are we doing?BWH consistently scores above state and national averages in nearly every aspect of care measured. For the most recent survey, our overall rating was well above state and U.S. averages, and our patients' willingness to recommend BWH was also well above state and national averages. 
What are we doing to improve?We intend to take patient satisfaction to the next level through the work of our Service Excellence program. Involving multiple clinical and administrative departments throughout the institution, this program has developed quality improvement initiatives that address our infrastructure and our processes. Recent improvements include room service for meals, private rooms, upgraded television systems, a health education library, an upgraded nurse call system, quicker room repairs, and the development of a committee to focus on acute pain management. Click here to get more details about what we’ve been doing to improve. | 
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