The purpose of this RFA is to continue the work of the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) program which AHRQ began in 199 5.

For the past 21 years, the CAHPS team -- CAHPS grantees, the CAHPS Survey User Network, and AHRQ CAHPS staff -- has advanced the science

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of patients' experience, particularly through the development of CAHPS surveys and related materials that allow consumers to assess their quality-related experiences with their health plans, providers, and health care facility settings.

The CAHPS surveys are now broadly used by governmental agencies and organizations such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), other health care purchasers, and the National Committee for Quality Assurance for a variety of different purposes such as value-based purchasing, public reporting, and accreditation.

Specifically, this RFA solicits research to be performed within five broad areas:
a) Advancing the science of consumer assessment of patient experience; b) Continued innovation to ensure relevance to health services delivery and survey best practices; c) Reporting patient experience data; d) Quality improvement (QI) studies; and e) Developing internal and external program communication strategies.

Each of these areas is described in detail in Part 2.

Full Text of the Announcement.