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So, what is it?

The Health Outcomes Survey (HOS) is a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) survey that randomly samples Medicare Advantage (MA) plan members every July through November to ask about their overall health. Particularly, their perception of their doctor’s involvement around some key factors:

Many HOS questions ask MA beneficiaries if their doctor has talked to them about these things.

Respondents are then asked to complete a follow-up survey 2 years later. The idea is to see how well health plans and healthcare practitioners communicate the importance of these factors to MA beneficiaries. Results are used for insights into population health and to compare the quality of MA plans.

Know the survey questions

Below are some common phrasings of HOS questions. CMS will send surveys to your patients’ homes. MA plans will send their members myriad HOS-related communications to try and improve quality scores. You can leverage all this correspondence to get your patients more involved in their care. 

 

HOS measures                                                   Sample survey question

 

Reducing Fall Risk

In the past 12 months, have you talked with your doctor or other health care provider about falling or problems with balance or walking?

     Monitoring Physical Activity

In the past 12 months, have you talked with a doctor or other health care provider about your level of exercise or physical activity?

Improving Bladder Control

Have you ever talked with a doctor, nurse, or other health care provider about leaking of urine?

 


Have the conversations

How do you turn a CMS survey and MA plan comparison tool into something that can actually improve health outcomes for your senior patients?

Easy. Just keep talking.

Take every opportunity you get. You’re their doctor. Your patients trust you. The more you address fall risk, physical activity and urinary incontinence with your patients, the more open they’ll be to discussing their health concerns. And the more likely they are to take an active role in improving their health.

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