Provider Satisfaction with Communication from Behavioral Health (BH) Providers
Posted on August 22, 2017
To our valued Providers:
In May, Health New England sent out 183 questionnaires to Primary Care Physicians (PCP) at 10 of our practices that have the highest population of our members receiving BH treatment. This questionnaire was designed to assess satisfaction of communication from the BH providers who are treating these members. Of the 183 mailed questionnaires, Health New England received a total of 30 surveys returned, 28 of which identified having patients who received BH treatment, a response rate of 16%. Results, compared to the 2016 survey, are shown below:
| PCP Response | 2016 | 2017 |
| Response Rate | 15% (42/288) | 16% (30/183) |
| Reports Received | ||
| · Never | 16 (40%) | 9 (32.1%) |
| · Less than 20% of time | 14 (35%) | 13 (46.4%) |
| · Some of the time (20-40%) | 3 (7.5%) | 2 (7.1%) |
| · Half of the time | 1 (2.5%) | 1 (3.5%) |
| · Most of the time (60-80%) | 3 (7.5%) | 1 (3.5%) |
| · Almost always (>80%) | 3 (7.5%) | 2 (7.1%) |
| Timeliness of Report | ||
| · Never | 0 | 0 |
| · Less than 20% of time | 10 (25%) | 10 (35.7%) |
| · Some of the time (20-40%) | 3 (7.5%) | 2 (7.1%) |
| · Half of the time | 2 (5%) | 1 (3.5%) |
| · Most of the time (60-80%) | 6 (15%) | 2 (7.1%) |
| · Almost always (>80%) | 3 (7.5%) | 4 (14.2%) |
| Usefulness of Report | ||
| · Never | 0 | 0 |
| · Less than 20% of time | 4 (10%) | 2 (7.1%) |
| · Some of the time (20-40%) | 5 (12.5%) | 3 (10.7%) |
| · Half of the time | 0 | 0 |
| · Most of the time (60-80%) | 8 (20%) | 6 (21.4%) |
| · Almost always (>80%) | 7 (17.5%) | 8 (28.6%) |
Barriers identified by the PCPs for a lack of communication once again this year included federal confidentiality laws around substance abuse as well as patients declining to have this information shared between PCP/BH. PCPs also reported that having updated medication lists and new diagnosis sent from BH providers would be helpful. Having a shared EMR that would allow for shared information was highlighted as a need for improved knowledge and information for the PCP/BH.
These results indicate that PCPs continue to identify that there remains an opportunity for improvement in the communication from BH providers regarding their patients. Health New England did coordinate activities in 2016 toward improving and promoting communication between these providers. Activities included offering a subsidized CME on best practices for behavioral health integration, ongoing provider education through regional quality summits and ongoing education with additional resources via our HNE talk web portal for providers. Health New England is committed to engage in further activities once again in 2017 to help increase these rates. If you have any best practice models or ideas, please feel free to share them at your convenience.
