Where the survey numbers come from
HCAHPS — the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems — is a standardized questionnaire sent to a random sample of adult patients between 48 hours and six weeks after they leave the hospital. Every hospital asks the same questions in the same wording, which is what makes the results comparable at all.
Why only "always" counts
Most HCAHPS questions offer four answers: always, usually, sometimes, never. CMS publishes all of them, but the headline percentage — the one used in star ratings and the one we show — counts only always.
That is a deliberately demanding bar, and it is the right one. "Usually responded promptly to the call button" is not reassuring when the exception is the night you needed help. Reading only the "always" share means a score of 70% is genuinely good, not a failing grade.
What the survey cannot tell you
Response rates are typically well under half of those surveyed, and patients who had unusually good or bad stays are likelier to reply. The survey also measures communication and environment, not clinical outcomes — a hospital can be warm and attentive while having mediocre mortality rates, and vice versa. Read it alongside the clinical measures, not instead of them.
Where to go next
Browse hospitals by state to see these measures for a specific hospital, or compare two hospitals side by side. For the official source, see Medicare.gov Care Compare.