This application proposes a program of research, development, and evaluation that will advance the state of the field with respect to the design, collection, and use of consumers' assessments of health care for purposes of informing health care choices and improving health care quality. The specific goals of the proposed project are to: 1) maintain and refine existing CAHPS products, including the Experience with Care and Health Outcomes (ECHO) survey and the CAHPS analysis program (CAHPS macro), 2) further develop and test surveys and reports that assess nursing home performance, group practices, and care of persons with mobility impairments, 3) develop and test new survey modules and protocols that address individual clinician performance, PPO performance and patient safety, 4) test and evaluate new data collection methodologies, including use of the Internet and Interactive Voice Recognition, 5) develop, test, and evaluate new approaches to reporting CAHPS data to consumers, purchasers, and providers, 6) develop, implement and evaluate new approaches to facilitating quality improvement through the use of CAHPS data, and 7) evaluate new and conventional approaches to facilitating consumers' use of CAHPS data to inform their health care decisions and improve the quality of care they receive. The applicants are a consortium of experts in consumer survey design, report development, experimental psychology, quality improvement, evaluation research, and community-based dissemination methods from the Department of Health Care Policy in the Harvard Medical School, Baruch College at City University of New York, the Center for Survey Research at the University of Massachusetts, The Department of Psychology at Harvard University, the Center for Measuring Rehabilitation Outcomes at Boston University, the National Committee for Quality Assurance, the New England Medical Center, the Academy of Educational Development (AED), and several nationally known independent researchers and consultants. This consortium (hereafter referred to as the """"""""Harvard team"""""""") proposes maintaining continuity in the CAHPS development process by continuing critical activities and well established collaborations from the CAHPS I project, while expanding the team substantially to bring new skills, perspectives and expertise to the project. Similarly, the team has maintained close contact with collaborating demonstration sites from CAHPS I and has established new relationships with public and private organizations that share an interest in refining and assessing CAHPS products for improved decision making and quality improvement.
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