Spring 2016
Neighborhood’s Provider Network Management (PNM) Team, formerly the Provider Engagement and Contracting department, completed its annual primary care network After Hours Survey in September 2015. One hundred and fifteen sites (all with enrollment of 200 members or more) were surveyed, representing 78 percent of Neighborhood’s membership.
During the survey, calls are made to primary care sites after scheduled hours of operation.
The survey records:
- Whether each site uses an answering machine, answering service or both.
- The number and type of languages available to callers.
- Whether or not Emergency Department instructions are mentioned first.
- The average wait time for an after-hours caller until they are connected with an on-call provider.
The survey determined that 100 percent of the practices surveyed have a reliable mechanism (answering machine, answering service or both) with which to receive calls after business hours. Eighty-four percent of the sites surveyed use both an answering machine and answering service; at some of those, the on-call provider answered the call directly. The average wait time for a call-back from an on-call provider dropped from three minutes from last year’s survey down to 18 minutes.
We’re thrilled to report that our providers continued to improve on their after hours care. The results of the survey illustrate the dedication of Neighborhood’s Primary Care Network, and the PNM team offers its sincere thanks to our Primary Care Network. Your performance perfectly embodies 24 hours per day, seven days a week commitment to our members.