Evaluating the Content of the Communication Items in the CAHPS ® Clinician and Group Survey and Supplemental Items with What High-Performing Physicians Say They Do

CG-CAHPS survey items capture many of the most commonly mentioned doctor–patient communication behaviors and practices identified by high-performing physicians. Nonverbal communication, greeting patients, and tracking personal information about patients were identified as key aspects of doctor–patient communication, but are not captured by the current CG-CAHPS. We recommend further research to assess patients’ perceptions of specific verbal and nonverbal behaviors (such as leaning forward in a chair, casually asking about other family members), followed by the development of new items (if needed) that aim to capture what these specific behaviors represent to patients (e.g., listens attentively, seems to care about me as a person, empathy). We also recommend including items about greeting and tracking personal information about patients in future CAHPS item sets addressing doctor–patient communication. Enriching the content of the CAHPS communication measure can help health-care organizations improve doctor–patient communication and interactions. Copyright Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2013