New CAHPS Survey Items Ask Consumers About Experiences Accessing Mental Health Care

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) program has released new supplemental questions to gather information on consumer experiences with access to mental health care services, including therapy and medication. The six questions can be added to either the CAHPS Health Plan Survey or the CAHPS Clinician & Group Survey.

These new supplemental questions complement the CAHPS research team’s ongoing work to develop and test a stand-alone survey designed to assess patient experience with care for mental or behavioral health issues.

The mental health care questions for the Health . . .