Psychometric Testing of a Measure of Patient Experience in an Ambulatory Surgery Setting

The purpose of this research was to develop a psychometrically sound survey for use with the Outpatient and Ambulatory Surgery Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Services (OAS CAHPS) survey. Both an exploratory pilot and a confirmatory pilot were conducted in hospital outpatient departments and freestanding ambulatory surgery centers eligible for participation in the OAS CAHPS program. Analyses indicated an internally consistent and valid 18-item survey with 6 measures, including Access, Moving Through the Visit, Nurses, Anesthesiologist, Doctor, and Coordinated Care. The measures are small, maximizing the number that can be used along with the OAS CAHPS survey, given Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services restrictions.