Hospitals Ranked by HCAHPS Score

The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) is a patient satisfaction survey required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for all hospitals in the United States. It is administered to a random sample of adult patients across medical conditions between 48 hours and 6 weeks after discharge. 

In CMS' HCAHPS survey, patients provide feedback on their hospital experience, including:

• Communication with nurses  
• Communication with doctors  
• Responsiveness when help is required  
• Pain management  
• Communication about medicines
•  Discharge information  
• Cleanliness and quietness of hospital environment  
• Overall Hospital rating 

The survey results are publicly reported for all to see and may impact a healthcare organization’s reputation. Additionally, the government provides reimbursement based on results. Within a value-based care environment, in particular, excellent survey performance keeps the hospital financially strong.  

Definitive Healthcare's Hospitals & IDNs platform provides a 360-degree view of more than 8,800 U.S. hospitals and IDNs. Users can access intelligence on merger and acquisition activity, software and technology implementations, affiliations, and detailed financial, clinical, and quality metrics like HCAHPS scores.  

According to Definitive Healthcare, only 218 U.S. hospitals had an overall five-star rating in 2019 (compared to 233 in 2018), and 94 had a one-star rating (compared to 67 in 2018). Here are the U.S. hospitals with the highest and lowest HCAHPS ratings: 
 

10 Hospitals with 5 HCAHPS Stars by Net Patient Revenue 

Fig 1 .Data from Definitive Healthcare’s Hospitals & IDNs platform, sourced from hospital self-reporting to CMS in CY 2019. 

The above table features the U.S.' top rated hospitals in terms of HCAHPS scores. This list includes a smattering of smaller hospitals, and a high volume of specialized hospitals—particularly cancer centers.  

Cancer centers may receive higher ratings because they are highly specialized, and report lower patient volumes, which may result in a better patient experience. It is interesting to note that nearly all of these hospitals are classified as short-term acute care hospitals: facilities where patients tend to visit their trusted primary care provider, with whom they build and foster relationships.  

10 Hospitals with 1 HCAHPS Star by Net Patient Revenue 

Fig 2. Data from Definitive Healthcare’s Hospitals & IDNs platform, sourced from hospital self-reporting to CMS in CY 2019. 

This list represents 10 U.S. hospitals that received a one-star HCAHPS score from CMS. As a whole, these hospitals do have a higher number of discharge volumes than the hospitals with five-star ratings, so these low scores may be a result of higher patient-to-provider ratios and staffing shortages.  

Patients already expect quality care and strong communication from their care providers, so a better patient experience may help improve these hospitals' HCAHPS ratings. However, many factors influence patient satisfaction, including noise pollution, high patient volumes, and the number of patients who are non-native English speakers. 

Learn more 

Definitive Healthcare provides users with an in-depth look into healthcare organization's HCAHPS scores and how they compare to state and national averages. 

To learn more about Definitive Healthcare's quality of care data, including HCAHPS scores, readmission and complication rates, and infection measures, visit our blog.

Originally published May 15, 2019