CMS OKs Press Ganey for Primary Care First Patient Experience Surveys

Patient experience consulting and surveying firm Press Ganey got a big leg up after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved it to administer the Primary Care First Patient Experience of Care Surveys (PCF PECS).

The Primary Care First payment model, for which CMS started accepting applications in March 2021, is a five-year program focusing on improving patient experience and health outcomes while cutting healthcare costs in the primary care setting. PECS is an important aspect of this program as it helps measure improvements in patient experience.

Press Ganey said it would deploy the first run of PECS between September 28 through December 21, 2021.

Press Ganey officials said this authorization is a point of pride for the organization, which has deep experience in the patient satisfaction surveying and insights field.

“We are proud to receive CMS approval to provide a solution to help drive and sustain improvement in the primary care setting,” said Daniel Litwer, chief client officer for Press Ganey. “Feedback from patients will produce critical insight into how this model impacts and reshapes the experience for those with complex and chronic conditions.”

This first year of the Primary Care First model will leverage a curated set of patient experience measures, including some elements of the CG-CAHPS 3.0 and targeted questions developed with the PCF model in mind. Particularly, the PCF PECS surveying questions will embody:

• Receiving timely care, appointments and information
• How well providers communicate
• Patient’s rating of provider
• Attention to care from other providers
• Support patients taking care of own health

Press Ganey said the PCF patient experience survey questions will integrate seamlessly into the consulting firm’s existing, real-time patient experience surveys. Surveys can accommodate both in-person and virtual primary care visits, Press Ganey confirmed.

“This approval together with our recent SPH Analytics acquisition makes Press Ganey the only partner certified to conduct all CMS- and NCQA-mandated experience surveys,” said Kaycee Glavich, director of policy at Press Ganey. “We are uniquely positioned to help organizations navigate evolving requirements thanks to our deep subject matter expertise and stringent adherence to quality assurance guidelines.”

PCF program participants can contract with Press Ganey by contacting the firm and CMS of the deal by June 30, 2021.

CMS developed PCF as a means to improve clinical quality and patient experience, as well as cut down on healthcare costs, within the primary care setting. Primary care serves as an epicenter for care coordination and value-based care, CMS noted, making this program ideal for improving outcomes.