Louisiana has some of the highest scores in both physician and nurse communication while the District of Columbia has the lowest, CMS found.
The Patient survey (HCAHPS)-State database lists the state averages for the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey responses. It used survey data from October 2024 to September 2025 and was updated Aug. 13.
Becker’s previously found the hospitals with five-star CMS ratings for nurse communication and physician communication. CMS does not use star ratings for states, instead collecting the percentage of patients who reported that physicians or nurses “always”, “usually” or “sometimes” or “never” communicated well.
Here are the states with the percentage of patients that said physicians and nurses “always” communicated well.
| State | Nurses always communicated well | Physicians always communicated well |
| Alabama | 80% | 82% |
| Alaska | 81% | 80% |
| Arizona | 77% | 76% |
| Arkansas | 81% | 82% |
| California | 76% | 76% |
| Colorado | 80% | 80% |
| Connecticut | 78% | 77% |
| Delaware | 77% | 76% |
| District of Columbia | 72% | 78% |
| Florida | 76% | 75% |
| Georgia | 79% | 79% |
| Hawaii | 79% | 80% |
| Idaho | 82% | 83% |
| Illinois | 79% | 79% |
| Indiana | 80% | 79% |
| Iowa | 83% | 82% |
| Kansas | 83% | 84% |
| Kentucky | 82% | 82% |
| Louisiana | 84% | 85% |
| Maine | 83% | 83% |
| Maryland | 75% | 77% |
| Massachusetts | 79% | 79% |
| Michigan | 80% | 78% |
| Minnesota | 82% | 82% |
| Mississippi | 83% | 84% |
| Missouri | 79% | 79% |
| Montana | 82% | 82% |
| Nebraska | 84% | 84% |
| Nevada | 76% | 74% |
| New Hampshire | 82% | 81% |
| New Jersey | 76% | 75% |
| New Mexico | 78% | 78% |
| New York | 77% | 77% |
| North Carolina | 80% | 81% |
| North Dakota | 83% | 84% |
| Ohio | 81% | 79% |
| Oklahoma | 81% | 81% |
| Oregon | 81% | 81% |
| Pennsylvania | 81% | 79% |
| Rhode Island | 80% | 79% |
| South Carolina | 81% | 81% |
| South Dakota | 83% | 85% |
| Tennessee | 80% | 81% |
| Texas | 80% | 80% |
| Utah | 81% | 82% |
| Vermont | 83% | 83% |
| Virginia | 81% | 80% |
| Washington | 78% | 79% |
| West Virginia | 84% | 82% |
| Wisconsin | 83% | 82% |
| Wyoming | 82% | 81% |
