Healthcare Experience Foundation (HXF) Special Report: New Data Reveals First Look at Emerging Patient Experience Trends for Healthcare Delivery Following Mandated Updates to National Consumer Survey

Business Wire

01-05-2025

PENSACOLA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A special report, Initial Findings from HCAHPS 2.0: A New Era in Patient Experience, released by the Healthcare Experience Foundation (HXF) in collaboration with Professional Research Consultants (PRC), a third-party healthcare data and research firm, reveals that patients rank healthcare staff collaboration and team dynamics as the number one predictor of their likelihood to recommend a hospital (32%), and the number one predictor of overall hospital rating (38%).
"With recent updates to the HCAHPS survey we're able to see for the first time in nearly 20 years, nationally, empirical data confirming just how critical collaboration among healthcare teams is to shaping the patient experience."
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The report reveals an industry first-look at initial findings of data collected and analyzed from over 18,000 patient discharge surveys administered and collected in Q1 2025 from healthcare systems across the United States. The findings represent a first-of-its-kind glimpse into patients' perceptions of quality care following a comprehensive nation-wide update earlier this year to the annual Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey—the largest update to the survey since its inception in 2006.
'For years, we've recognized—anecdotally and through experience—that strong team dynamics are essential to delivering exceptional patient care. With recent updates to the HCAHPS survey we're able to see for the first time in nearly 20 years, nationally, empirical data confirming just how critical collaboration among healthcare teams is to shaping the patient experience,' says Katie Owens, President of Healthcare Experience Foundation. 'The data was not previously available because care coordination items did not exist in past HCAHPS iterations,' she adds, 'and reveals that collaboration across teams is a more important predictor of patient experience than other factors previously measured.'
As a national, standardized, publicly reported data collection instrument developed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the HCAHPS survey measures patients' perspectives of their hospital experiences, including hospital quality and overall patient care.
Other key findings from the Special Report include:
Physicians and staff continue to drive overall patient experiences, but data reveals that nurses especially, who often have the most consistent and direct interactions with patients, are key influencers of overall care experience.
Data reveals how quickly care teams respond to patient needs ranks third highest predictor of overall hospital rating, higher than other measures including restfulness and cleanliness of the hospital environment, physician communications, discharge information, and information about symptoms.
Nearly 2 out of 3 patients (65.7%) report that their hospital stay was unplanned, underscoring the importance of care coordination across emergency and inpatient settings—further validating patients desires or seamless teamwork.
'The survey is evolving to increase value for both patients and healthcare teams,' said Steve Meth, Vice President and Chief Experience Officer at Johns Hopkins Medicine. 'This wet read not only helps amplify healthcare consumers priorities about what matters most in their care, but also reveals actionable insights for healthcare leaders to respond nimbly to patient feedback.'
About Healthcare Experience Foundation:
Healthcare Experience Foundation (HXF) is a national leader in healthcare coaching and consulting, serving more than 7,500 healthcare leaders and staff across 600+ organizations. With an average improvement of 24 national percentile points in HCAHPS performance, HXF empowers teams to lead with empathy, purpose, and excellence. Learn more at healthcareexperience.org. Healthcare Experience Foundation proudly powers PRC's Advisory, Coaching and Improvement Division. For more information, visit www.healthcareexperience.org.
About PRC:
Professional Research Consultants (PRC) is a leading experience management company dedicated to helping healthcare organizations create world-class experiences for patients, employees, physicians, and communities. Since 1980, PRC has partnered with over 2,800 healthcare organizations nationwide, delivering actionable insights through its proprietary healthcare discovery platform. PRC's solutions empower organizations to listen, understand, and act—driving measurable improvements in patient loyalty, employee engagement, physician alignment, and community health. Learn more at