March Meeting Presentation

The Council’s Spring Business Meeting was held March 19, 2008 at the Radisson Hotel Largo. This CEO/Trustee luncheon was called to order by Board Member Hugh Eagleton in the absence of Council Chairman Michael Barch. Mr. Eagleton apologized on behalf of Chairman Barch and welcomed everyone in attendance. The Healthcare Council/Shared Services’ Annual Report was introduced and distributed by Council President & CEO Joe Burns.

Following an outstanding sit down lunch, the featured presenters, Ted Gumer, VP, Business Development and Berke Bilbay, VP, Data Analysis and Reporting, from HealthStream Research were introduced by Joe Burns.

“HCAHPS: Creating A Positive Impact on Your HCAHPS Scores”

To begin, Mr. Gumer introduced HealthStream Research to the few in attendance who are not currently HealthStream clients. The introduction included an explanation of “Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems” (HCAHPS) at the most basic level for those less familiar with the CMS initiative. This government initiative is a nationwide, standardized survey of the patient’s perspectives of the care provided, for inpatient experiences.

After a review of recent updates on the HCAHPS public reporting schedule, the talk focused on the importance that CMS is placing on the measurement of the patient experience as an integral component of their Value Based Purchasing (VBP) program. This program will be replacing Medicare’s current “Reporting Hospital Quality Data for Annual Payment Update” (RHQDAPU), and Mr. Gumer illustrated how the measures will likely be scored. Lastly, he reviewed the options being presented to Congress about how to transition from RHQDAPU to VBP starting in the federal FY 2009.

Mr. Bilbay took over the discussion to show what HealthStream has discovered from its years of HCAHPS data collection. The audience engaged in the discussion of the key drivers of both HCAHPS and traditional patient satisfaction measurement. Mr. Bilbay showed statistical data outlining the inverse relationship of education level to HCAHPS scores, as well as the direct correlation that staff responsiveness has on the overall perception of the care provided.

From the advantages of telephone data collection to the clear and direct relationship of HCAHPS scores to patient satisfaction scores, the group heard Mr. Bilbay explain how HealthStream has created its unique, integrated survey approach to improve HCAHPS performance.

To close, HealthStream shared some best practices from the 450+ hospitals for which they conduct HCAHPS research as well as the concerns that hospitals need to be aware of as HCAHPS data is publicly released this Spring. A lively question and answer session followed.

Mark your calendars. The next CEO/Trustee luncheon will be at the Hilton DC/Silver Spring, September 10. Details later.