Medicare CAHPS Season is March to June

  Offer convenient appointment times by keeping blocks of time open for same-day, weekend, and early morning/evening slots.

  Consider offering telemedicine service (by phone or video chat) as an alternative to in-person appointments. View Healthfirst telehealth resources at HFproviders.org/provider-resources/telehealth.

  Confirm appointments with patients one day prior to their visit by text message, a live call, or an automated call messaging system.

  Provide options for registering in advance by setting up either a patient portal or an online scheduling system so patients can provide their information before coming in.

  Have patients’ records ready and reviewed, and obtain any prior authorizations ahead of visit to expedite care.

  Notify patients early if long wait times are expected or if there are any last-minute requests for lab work.

  Discuss and update allergies, medications, immunizations, and problem list at every visit.

  Do your best to see patients within 15 minutes of their appointment times.

  Review patients’ prescriptions, make sure they understand the importance of their medications, and alert them to any possible adverse drug interactions.

  Communicate when patients’ test results will be available and set reminders to review results with patients in a timely manner.

   Ask patients if they have any questions or concerns regarding their care.

Immediately schedule patients’ follow-up appointments to ensure continuous care.

Account for specialist care by making sure specialist appointments were made or by helping patients schedule appointments if needed.

Encourage patients to use the patient portal, which lets them access their health records and ask providers questions.

Share health records with patients’ other providers to keep everyone up to date.

Getting Needed Care

• In the last six months, how often did you get an appointment to see a specialist as soon as you needed?
• In the last six months, how often was it easy to get the care, tests, or treatment you needed?

Getting Care Quickly

• In the last six months, when you needed care right away, how often did you get care as soon as you needed?
• In the last six months, how often did you get an appointment for a checkup or routine care at a doctor’s office or clinic as soon as you needed?

Care Coordination

• In the last six months, when you visited your personal doctor for a scheduled appointment, how often did they have your medical records or other information about your care?
• In the last six months, when your personal doctor ordered a blood test, X-ray, or other test for you, how often did someone from your personal doctor’s office follow up to give you those results?
• In the last six months, when your personal doctor ordered a blood test, X-ray, or other test for you, how often did you get those results as soon as you needed them?
• In the last six months, how often did you get the help you needed from your personal doctor’s office to manage your care among these different providers and services?
• In the last six months, how often did you get the help you needed from your personal doctor’s office to manage your care among these different providers and services?
• In the last six months, how often did your personal doctor seem informed and up to date about the care you got from specialists?

Getting Prescription Drugs

• In the last six months, how often was it easy to use your prescription drug plan to get the medicines your doctor prescribed?
• In the last six months, how often was it easy to use your prescription drug plan to fill a prescription at your local pharmacy?
• In the last six months, how often was it easy to use your prescription drug plan to fill a prescription by mail?

Rating of Healthcare Quality

• Using any number from 0 to 10, where 0 is the worst healthcare possible and 10 is the best healthcare possible, what number would you use to rate all of your healthcare in the last 6 months?

Annual Flu Vaccine

• In the last six months, have you had a flu shot?