Survey offers insights into how we’re meeting expectations of health care providers

We conducted 10-minute surveys of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan physicians and office staff, beginning late last year. The physician survey was fielded from Nov. 9 through Dec. 22, 2021, while the office staff survey was open from Nov. 12 through Jan. 3, 2022. For more details about the survey methodology, see the “How we conducted the survey” section at end of this article.

Following is an overview of the survey findings.

Blue Cross scores high on commitment to health and providing support for patient care
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network received high marks from providers and office staff on many elements of their experiences with us, including the value of provider network participation, our commitment to improving health care in Michigan and the support we offer to help deliver patient care. In fact, Blue Cross outperforms other health plans on all experience measures.

However, they want us to do more to enhance their understanding of which procedures need authorization. Also, physicians indicated they want to have input into new programs and policies that affect patient care.

For providers, the highest ratings were for the overall relationship with Blue Cross, our demonstrated commitment to improve health and health care in Michigan and the value of participating in the provider network. Here are several key metrics:

• Seventy-six percent of providers said they were somewhat or very satisfied (score of 6 through 10 on a 0 to 10 scale) with the value of participating in the provider network. 
• Seventy-three percent of providers were very satisfied with our dedicated commitment to improve health and health care in Michigan.
• Seventy-four percent of providers were very satisfied in their overall relationship with Blue Cross.
• Seventy-three percent of providers were very satisfied with the ease of doing business with Blue Cross.
• Seventy-one percent of providers were somewhat or very satisfied with the overall support Blue Cross provides to help deliver patient care.
• Sixty-five percent of providers were somewhat or very satisfied with the support and resources offered during the pandemic.
• Seventy-one percent of providers said they were somewhat or very satisfied with the direction Blue Cross is headed for the future.

By comparison, other health plans in Michigan scored in the range of 50% to 60% satisfaction on the above statements.

Physicians want a partnership
Physicians want to have a say in the strategic decisions Blue Cross is considering when it will affect patient care and they also want fair compensation. Gathering feedback from research efforts, such as the following, is one way that we’re listening to providers.

• Fifty-four percent of providers agreed or strongly agreed that Blue Cross trusts their expertise as a medical doctor.
• Forty-nine percent of providers somewhat or strongly agree that Blue Cross is a partner to their practice by providing tools and support to provide quality care to their patients.
• Fifty-five percent of providers somewhat or strongly agree that Blue Cross provides fair compensation.

Provider Inquiry can be improved
Long wait times for provider inquiry help are a primary concern for office staff. Only 25% of office staff respondents agree that Provider Inquiry has gotten somewhat or much better in the last 12 months. However, 80% of office staff were somewhat or very satisfied that Provider Inquiry information is accurate regarding patient eligibility and benefits.

In addition:

• Sixty-nine percent of office staff said they were somewhat or very satisfied with the ease of finding accurate patient eligibility and benefits information.
• Sixty-three percent of office staff said they were somewhat or very satisfied with representatives’ ability to resolve issues and concerns.

Prior authorizations
Understanding when prior authorizations are required is an ongoing pain point for physicians and office staff. Fifty percent of Blue Cross providers and office staff somewhat or strongly agree that they know when prior authorization is required.

Nearly half (47%) of physicians and office said they understand Blue Cross prior authorization and medical criteria. And approximately one-third (31%) of office staff respondents said it was easy to determine which medical services require authorization.

Our move to Availity^®
Providing extra support and education around the benefits of Availity may ease hesitancy toward the switch from web-DENIS. Among those who have experience with Availity, 6 in 10 are satisfied, while others are hesitant to switch from web-DENIS to Availity.

To help with the transition to Availity, we’ve provided communications in our newsletters for the past year and have recently posted a special edition newsletter about Availity on March 16, including how to register and how to access training.

Providers find our communications helpful
The majority of providers find Blue Cross and BCN communications informative and relevant with heaviest utilization among office staff. Fifty-three percent of providers and 79% of office staff said they somewhat or strongly agree that our provider communications keep them abreast of information relevant to them. The Record and BCN Provider News were the most popular and useful publications for office staff. Hospital & Physician Update isthe most useful for physicians.

How we conducted the survey
Our survey of physicians and office staff was administered by Gongos, an independent firm that contracts with Blue Cross.

• Physicians completed the survey online and were sent invitations by email and fax. Additional reminders were sent by fax as well.
• Invitations for office staff were sent by mail, offering the option to complete online or by mail. Postcard reminders were also sent.
• A total of 428 physicians and 283 office staff completed a survey.