CAHPS Field Test of Proposed Health Information Technology Questions and Methodology

This study, funded through cooperative agreements with RAND and Harvard, is being conducted pursuant to AHRQ’s statutory authority to conduct research and evaluations on health care and systems for the delivery of such care, including activities with respect to (1) the quality, effectiveness, efficiency, appropriateness and value of health care services and (2) health care technologies, facilities and equipment. See 42 U.S.C. 299a(a)(1) and (5). This study is a one-time field test to be conducted in calendar year 2009. The field test to be conducted under this request will be done for the following purposes: a. Analysis of revised item wording— Assess candidate wordings for survey items b. Mode Analysis—Evaluate the equivalence of items administered by mail, telephone, and internet; compare the characteristics and responses of respondents who complete the survey by different modes of administration. c. Case mix adjustment analysis— Evaluate variables that need to be considered for case mix adjustment of scores. d. Psychometric Analysis-Provide information for the revision and shortening of questionnaires based on the assessment of the reliability and validity of survey items and composites. The end result will be a data collection related to the assessment of patients’ perspective on how well health information technology is being used by health care professionals. The field testing will ensure that the future data collection yields high quality data and to ensure a minimization of respondent burden, increase agency efficiency, and improve responsiveness to the public. The survey items will be added to currently available CAHPS® surveys and will provide a venue to clinicians and practitioners to verify the quality of their services.