CAHPS Program Hospital Search and Rankings
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The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) program develops and supports the use of a comprehensive and evolving family of standardized surveys that ask consumers and patients to report on and evaluate their experiences with health care. (Learn more about the CAHPS program, the Consortium, and its goals.)
The CAHPS program is funded and administered by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), which works closely with a consortium of public and private organizations. Users of CAHPS survey results include patients and consumers, quality monitors and regulators, purchasers, provider organizations, and health plans. These individuals and organizations use the data to inform their purchasing or contracting decisions and to improve the quality of health care services.
Download the 2006 CAHPS Database (700KB PDF) 
Highlights of the survey results presented in this report include:
High ratings for hospital care by a majority of survey respondents. More than one-half of survey respondents (56%) rated their hospitals either “9” or “10” on a 10-point scale where “0” is the “worst possible hospital” and “10” is the “best possible hospital”. Furthermore, over 94% of respondents would either definitely (71%) or probably (23%) recommend their hospital to their friends and family.
Highest scores for communication with doctors and nurses. Nearly nine out of ten respondents (87%) reported that doctors always treated them with courtesy and respect (compared to 81% for nurses); 79% reported that doctors always listened carefully (compared to 71% for nurses); and over 76% reported that doctors always explained things in a way they could understand (compared to 72% for nurses).
Lowest scores for communication about medications and discharge information. Over one-quarter of all respondents (26%) reported that hospital staff never described possible side effects of new medications in a way they could understand. A similar proportion (24%) of respondents reported that hospital staff never talked with them about whether they would have the help they needed when they left the hospital. Eighteen percent reported they never received written information about symptoms or health problems to look for when leaving the hospital.
High to moderate scores for pain management and the hospital physical environment. More than three quarters of respondents (77%) reported that hospital staff always did everything they could to help with pain. However, only 64% reported that their pain was always well controlled when they needed pain medication. Only 56% of respondents reported that the area around their room was always quiet at night, while 67% reported that their room and bathroom were always kept clean.
