The American medical environment is currently experi-encing a dramatic transformation, and much of that relies on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Triple Aim initiative. The Triple Aim was developed by Don Berwick of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) in 2008 and focuses on revolutionizing U.S. health care through three main tenets: 1) improving individuals’ experience of health care, 2) improving the health of an aging U.S. population and 3) reducing the ever-rising per capita costs of health care. The ACA of 2010 has significantly altered the American health care system, shifting priorities to emphasize the greater importance of patient-centered outcomes. In that context, the ACA mandated public reporting programs that incorporate information collected using the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) surveys.
Anesthesiologists should be knowledgeable about the CAHPS surveys for a number of reasons, such as the Merit-based Incentive Payment...