Health Literacy & Interpreter Services HCAHPS Supplemental Items Now Available

Health Literacy & Interpreter Services HCAHPS Supplemental Items Now Available







HCAHPS Health Literacy and Interpreter Items Available in English and Spanish

Supplemental items for the adult version of the CAHPS Hospital Survey (HCAHPS) address both health literacy and the provision of interpreter services. The 39 health literacy items cover communication with doctors and nurses, as well as communication about medications, tests, forms, and self-care at home. The set of 10 interpreter services items include questions that gauge the need for interpreter services and the frequency with which those needs were met by hospital-provided interpreters, as opposed to family and friends, as well as compliance with language access policies.

Adult HCAHPS is implemented nationally by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). However, use of supplemental items is not part of the national implementation requirements. The supplemental items may be added to the end of HCAHPS by hospitals wanting more in-depth patient-reported data on health literacy and interpreter services.

To learn about the use of the health literacy items, including creating composite measures, go to the document About the CAHPS® Health Literacy Item Set for Hospitals.

To download the supplemental health literacy and interpreter services item sets in English or Spanish, go to: http://www.ahrq.gov/cahps/surveys-guidance/item-sets/literacy/suppl-item-topics-hospitals.html.

To learn more about HCAHPS and its implementation by CMS, visit www.hcahpsonline.org.