Provider access and availability for its members is a priority for Highmark. Every year Highmark conducts annual member surveys to evaluate their overall experiences with network providers and to identify areas for improvement. We ask your patients how well you communicate with them, and if they find the information that you give them easy to understand.

The scores on these surveys is part of how we evaluate our Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAPHS) scores for the year. Below are some tips on how you can improve your access and availability for the 2021 year.

Make Your Practice More Digital

While some of the elderly population may still prefer phone calls, an increasing amount of the population now wants a digital experience. This does not only mean telehealth visits (although that has become an increasingly valuable experience since the COVID-19 pandemic) but could also mean:

• Digital Appointments: Increasingly, your patients want to be able to make appointments online without having to call an office. By adopting a digital appointment approach, you will free up office staff to handle other priorities beyond setting up appointments while giving your patients the convenience of online appointment making.
• Online Portal: An online portal gives your patients the option of creating appointments, reviewing test results, and reviewing visit notes from their computer or phone. It also provides you with another channel to communicate with your patients about essential health information.
• Video and Phone Visits: Offering the option of virtual visits for your patients is especially important now as many patients are nervous to leave their house for a doctor’s appointment during the pandemic. This can also help patients who:

  • Do not have access to transportation to get to the office
  • Have a disability that makes it difficult to move around
  • Have anxiety about doctor offices

• Digital Check-Ins: This allows patients to socially distance themselves in their car while they wait for their appointment to begin.

Non-Digital Ways to Improve Member Experience

While going digital can have a positive impact on member experience, there are other ways to improve their office experience as well.

• Extend Office Hours: If your office hours are primarily between 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., many patients will be at work or school during these hours. This can lead patients to skip or postpone appointments.

• Decrease Wait Time: The longer the patient has to stay in the waiting room to be seen, the less satisfied they will be with your office and the less likely they are to come back. If possible, limit wait times to under 10 minutes to increase patient satisfaction.

Why This Matters

Many patients who are not receiving the care they need in a timely manner (whether it be long wait times on the phone to make an appointment, no open afternoon/evening appointments, or longer wait times in the office) tend to stop seeing their provider as often as they should.

Missing appointments can lead to the member not addressing new health problems, stopping treatment for chronic health issues, or going to the emergency room or an out-of-network provider to get quicker access. All of this is costly to the patient’s finances and health leading to further patient dissatisfaction.

By decreasing wait times, offering digital alternatives, and helping patients have quicker easier access to you will improve their satisfaction and bring them back to your office again and again.