LINCOLN, NEB., Sept. 22, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As part of greater undertaking of accountability and transparency throughout healthcare, National Research Corporation is pleased to announce its conditional approval by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) as a CAHPS® Hospice survey vendor (also known as Hospice Experience of Care Survey). The approval is contingent upon successful completion of CMS training, which National Research will conclude in October.
National Research is already recognized as the largest patient experience measurement firm in the U.S. (source: Modern Healthcare). As the only such evidence-based research entity that connects person-centered experience measurement across all healthcare and senior care services segments, National Research is the best qualified CAHPS partner to offer worry-free compliance and quality improvement action planning that impacts care coordination referrals and brand reputation.
Beginning in 2015, CAHPS Hospice will be a mandatory component of the Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP), a mandate created by the Affordable Care Act in 2010. All Medicare-certified hospice organizations that have served 50 or more survey-eligible decedents per calendar year will be required to contract with an approved vendor to administer the CAHPS Hospice survey to family members. As a pay-for-reporting requirement, if hospice organizations fail to comply with the rule, they may face a two percent reduction in Medicare reimbursement in the following fiscal year. Hospice providers will need to select a CAHPS survey vendor, such as National Research, by December 2014 to participate in the dry run and preview scores before they are publicly reported.
In a transformational age in healthcare where resource constraints are more challenging than ever, the Hospice Advantage program bundles CAHPS Hospice and the new OCS Hospice Quality Report to give you the tools you need to get ahead of the game and prepare for public reporting—at a sensible price. Find out more about the all-encompassing, affordable Hospice Advantage program.
National Research now offers a new generation of OCS HomeCare products and solutions for hospice and home health providers. Since 1992, OCS by National Research has provided more experience and outcomes measurement than any other CAHPS firm, and many hospice organizations recognize OCS products as the industry standard for quality assurance benchmarking, QAPI compliance, and CMS Hospice Quality Reporting.
Providers are invited to discover more about CAHPS Hospice compliance, including an implementation timeline, by reading our blog.
"We are very excited to offer a new CAHPS Hospice survey and reporting solution that meets the evolving needs of the healthcare profession, while taking into account the important service that hospice and palliative care providers deliver," said Jason Stevens, senior vice president at National Research. "Our Hospice Advantage program aligns with the CMS goals and standards of the CAHPS Hospice survey, and also enables operational performance improvement that leads to greater quality of care for hospice patients and greater comfort for family members."
Learn more about the CAHPS Hospice survey offering at National Research.
About National Research Corporation
For more than 30 years, National Research Corporation (NASDAQ: NRCIA and NRCIB) has been at the forefront of patient-centered care. Today, the company's focus on empowering customer-centric healthcare across the continuum extends patient-centered care to incorporate families, communities, employees, senior housing residents, and other stakeholders.
Recognized by Modern Healthcare as the largest patient satisfaction firm in the U.S., National Research is dedicated to representing the true voice of patients and other healthcare stakeholders. This integration of cross-continuum metrics and analytics uncovers insights for effective performance improvement, quality measurement, care transitions, and many other factors that impact population health management.
National Research is headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska. For more information, call 800-388-4264, write to info@nationalresearch.com, or visit www.nationalresearch.com.