2019 Commercial member satisfaction with behavioral health care and services survey results

Background – Survey and Methodology

 

NCQA requires plans to conduct an annual survey to evaluate member experience with behavioral health care and services. These Behavioral Health (BH) satisfaction surveys are administered to all Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield (Anthem) NCQA Accredited Commercial and Marketplace health plans. Additionally, some state regulations require the need to assess member satisfaction with BH services. 

 

Internal Anthem accreditation and clinical behavioral health staff, including psychiatrists as well as other medical directors, developed Anthem’s BH survey. The survey was designed to target actionable issues about behavioral health providers related to quality of care, access to care, interaction with the patient, coordination of care, billing, prescriptions, and quality of the office site. The survey was conducted by an independent NCQA-certified research firm, DSS Research, Inc.

 

The results of the 2019 survey of Missouri HMO/POS providers, along with the Anthem averages, are listed below. On the following measures, the Missouri HMO/POS provider scores were comparable or better than the Anthem average. Measures with fewer than 20 respondents have been excluded. 

 

Category	Measure	Missouri HMO/POS 2019 Score	Anthem Commercial Plan Average 2019 Score
Access and Timeliness	Got initial routine appointment within 10 business days	76%	68%
	Got follow-up appointment within 30 calendar days	88%	82%
Location and Staff	Transportation options to the provider’s office were easy to get	77%	76%
	Parking at the location of services was easy	82%	80%
Office or Clinic	The office was located in a safe neighborhood and the outside was well-lit	96%	96%
	The office was neat and clean	96%	97%
	The waiting room was soundproof and adequately met patient needs	84%	85%
Billing	Had a discussion with the provider about the charges	77%	79%
	Provider billed more than the amount covered by insurance, copay	5%	4%
Prescriptions	How much the doctor talked about reasons to take medicines	96%	92%
	How much the doctor talked about reasons not to take medicines	71%	64%
	Provider asked what the patient thought was best	86%	88%

 

The goal for all measures is to be at least meeting the Anthem average. On the following measures, the Missouri HMO/POS providers scored at least one standard deviation below (or above on the financial/billing measure) the Anthem average. Measures with fewer than 20 respondents have been excluded. 

 

Category	Measure	Missouri HMO/POS 2019 Score	Anthem Commercial Plan Average 2019 Score
Access and Timeliness	Able to get Behavioral Health care	86%	91%
Location and Staff	Staff willing to see patient as often as necessary	81%	84%
	Staff returned calls within 24 hours	69%	83%
	Able to get all needed services	71%	84%
	Able to see a provider when patient wanted	73%	79%
Interaction with Patient	Attention paid to what patient had to say	84%	90%
	Respect for what patient had to say	79%	91%
	Understanding of patient’s concerns	81%	89%
	Explanation of things in a way that was easy to understand	82%	90%
	Thoroughness and skill of the provider	86%	89%
	Success in meeting patient needs	75%	84%
	Respect for cultural and/or religious/ spiritual beliefs	82%	91%
	Willingness to allow patient to take part in the treatment plan	86%	90%
Coordination of Care	Provider spoke with other treating providers when appropriate	82%	85%
Office or Clinic	Waiting room had enough seating	91%	94%
Prescriptions	Told about possible side effects of medicines	82%	91%
Billing	Received unexplained bill from the provider	14%	7%

 

Summary/Next Steps

 

At Anthem, we strive for excellence in all aspects of service to our members. We know that our participating providers strive for the same goal. The survey results indicate many areas with potential for improvement. Please review the survey and consider ways that together, we can provide a better member experience. If you have questions or concerns about the survey results, please contact your network consultant.

 

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