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OAS CAHPS FAQ

May 17, 2023
1 min read

Updated: May 22, 2023

As you may know, CMS will be mandating OAS CAHPS for Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) and Hospital Outpatient Departments (HOPDs) soon. In this blog, we are providing vital information for you to know as you search for the right vendor.

Definition of OAS CAHPS - eligible facility

HOPD: A unit of a hospital whose primary focus is to perform outpatient surgeries and procedures, is Medicare-certified, has a CMS Certification Number (CCN), and bills CMS under the Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS).


ASC: A freestanding medical facility that performs outpatient surgeries and procedures, is Medicare-certified, has a CCN, and meets the general conditions and requirements in accordance with 42 CFR 416 subpart B.

HOPDs will be mandated to report starting January 2024. ASCs will be mandated in January of 2025 to report.

OAS CAHPS becomes a mandatory measure as part of the OQR in 2024 for HOPDs and as part of the ASCQR beginning in 2025 for ASCs. HOPDs and ASCs that do not administer and report OAS CAHPS when it becomes mandatory could be subject to a penalty of 2% of their annual Medicare payment update.

We’ve had the opportunity to work with many ASC’s and HOPD’s who are now participating in OAS CAHPS during the voluntary reporting phase. The biggest benefit is that they are positioning themselves for success by a) knowing where they score relative to other facilities. This is important to help them b) understand where improvements need to be made so that they c) don’t end up on the wrong end of the reimbursement model when CMS implements the pay-for-performance standard.

The goals for designing the survey include producing a standardized instrument for generating data which:

  • can be used by HOPDs and ASCs for quality improvement initiatives

  • allows objective and meaningful comparisons between HOPDs and free-standing ASCs

  • enhances the ability of consumers to gain more insights into choices between HOPDs or ASCs from the public reporting of the results

  • Web-based with telephone follow up

  • Web-based with mail follow up

  • Telephone only

  • Mail only

We offer all methodologies, but mail. We tend to see a higher survey response rate by conducting telephone and web-based surveys with a telephone follow-up.


IMPORTANTLY: Text Survey Methodology IS NOT an approved survey process for OAS CAHPS program compliance.

The survey contains 34 questions that allow patients to rate their service on the topics of communication and care provided by healthcare providers and office staff; preparation for the surgery or procedure, and preparations for discharge and recovery. All these topics are important to patients when choosing an outpatient or ambulatory surgery provider.

Facilities may add up to 15 supplementary questions at the end of the survey and can choose to replace their internal patient experience of care surveys with the OAS CAHPS Survey. Some vendors may charge per question you add to the survey. We offer our clients the opportunity to add five additional survey questions at no additional cost.


When partnering with JLM, we allow all our clients to have access to real time data and reports at no additional cost or fees.

Yes, CMS approved raw patient data can be accessed and downloaded in our private solutions website at anytime.

There is no additional cost for creating the XMLs and reporting the data to CMS. This is included when partnering with us!

J.L. Morgan and Associates is a proud CMS-approved vendor conducting OAS CAHPS surveys across varied methodologies. Contact Kristi Burgess at Kristi.Burgess@JLM-Solutions.com with any questions about OAS CAHPS. She will be happy to help you!



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