Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Member Review feature and when was it released?
The Member Review feature is an online survey instrument that allows members to provide feedback on their experiences with individual providers, including physicians, dentists, other health care professionals and facilities. The ability to provide feedback is linked to a particular office visit. A member cannot submit feedback on a provider visit unless a claim for that visit has been submitted to Regence. Members are also limited to one survey per provider claim.
Using myRegence.com, our secure website, Regence members have completed over 50,000 online surveys. The survey tool also provides members with the opportunity to share written comments about their experiences with other members.
The aggregated numerical survey results and individual member comments are available to other members on myRegence.com.
Are results posted for both participating and non-participating providers?
The Member Review feature has been designed for Regence members with claims activity to provide feedback on most participating providers. Exceptions include laboratory, pharmacy and radiology providers. Our intent is to enable members to provide feedback on non-participating providers as well and we are currently working on an efficient way to display results for non-participating providers.
Can members see results for any provider?
Yes, members have access to the numerical survey results and member comments.
What does Regence do to encourage members to provide feedback?
We use several existing communication methods to proactively inform our members about this feature, including on-hold messages, agent/broker communications, member communications, and outreach to employers and the media. Our goal is for this to be one of several useful tools that engage and encourage members to take charge of their health care experiences.
How do I determine whether I have patient feedback results?
To quickly determine whether you have patient feedback results go to the alphabetical links on the Patient Feedback page.
If your name is not listed, this means you did not have any feedback from Regence members to view at the time the list was created or refreshed. You may wish to periodically review these lists to determine whether you have received feedback. The lists will be updated weekly.
If your name is on the list, this means you have results to view and will be able to do so through the Provider Center.
How can I access my patient feedback?
If you are already registered on the Provider Center, you will be able to view your patient feedback results through the “Patient Survey Results” link on the home page of the Provider Center.
If a third-party manages your access (primary account manager, office manager, etc.), he or she will be able to view results collected for any provider within your practice. It is important to note that if you do not see results when you select a specific provider, this means we have not yet received any feedback for that provider at this time.
In addition, you may also notice a link titled “Provider Feedback.” This link is designed to give you a mechanism for sending feedback to Regence via email. Emails received through this link will be routed to Regence’s Provider Services or Dental Services teams for a response.
PLEASE NOTE: When viewing patient feedback, there is an option to respond to member postings. This feature requires additional authentication above and beyond your Provider Center user registration. Please see the “Member Comments” section of this document for information on the authentication process.
Not Yet Registered
If you have not yet registered for the Provider Center, we strongly encourage you to do so.
If your current office system does not meet the technical requirements for the Provider Center or you would like a paper copy of your results while waiting for access, please contact your provider consultant or dental services representative or email
us.
What has Regence done to encourage the responsible use of this new tool?
The nature of this online tool means that members have the opportunity to share information with other members in a semi-public setting, creating a level of transparency and directness among our members.
Taking into consideration the feedback we received in our meetings with various medical groups, Regence has taken a number of steps to encourage the responsible use of this feature, including the following:
- Patient feedback is tied to a specific claims experience;
- Members are required to use a unique screen name and agree to Terms of Use before posting any comments about their experience with the provider or with Regence on a particular claim;
- The Terms of Use prohibits members from posting “any material or information that is illegal, obscene, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy or infringing of the proprietary or legal rights of any person or entity.” The Terms of Use also require the member to acknowledge that they are legally responsible for the information they post on myRegence.com.
- Regence reviews each comment before it is posted to myRegence.com (and therefore visible to other members) to determine whether the comment violates the Terms of Use.
- Terms of Use Violations. The following types of comments
violate the Terms of Use:
- Third Party’s Rights – Content that infringes or violates the proprietary or legal rights of any person or entity (such as a party’s copyright, trademark, trade secret, patent, etc.)
- Abusive Content – Content that is illegal, obscene, threatening,
defamatory or invasive of the member’s own or another’s privacy. We consider unfounded allegations of egregious comments to fall into this category.
- Spamming – Posting the same message on different boards
or forums.
- Commercial Solicitation – Posts trying to sell a service, product or
irrelevant point of view.
- General Trouble-Making – Content that evidences an intent to cause disruption or harm to other members’ community experience
or enjoyment.
- Allegations of Egregious Conduct. These are comments that suggest a
provider:
- Has or is engaged in illegal activity (e.g., insurance fraud or other
severe misconduct);
- Is practicing without a license or outside the scope of the
provider’s license;
- Has provided care that results in serious bodily injury or complicates an existing illness or injury; and/or,
- Has engaged in inappropriate touching or has conducted threatening or out-of-context exams.
Comments that violate the terms of use, including allegations of egregious conduct, will be restricted from member viewing.
Comments that allege egregious may be referred to a Customer Service specialist who may contact the member to inquire as to whether the member wants to file a complaint.
Member comments
How many comments must there be for a given provider before they are visible to other members?
One piece of feedback (either a survey result or a member comment) is all that is required to generate a result. Regence does not impose a threshold requirement before results are shared with members. We believe it is important to share information real-time when a member makes a comment.
The Member Review feature is not meant to generate statistically valid results, but to allow a free exchange of information and opinions among Regence members. The tool identifies the total number of surveys/responses submitted, as well as the number of unique users who submitted those responses.
How many times can a member leave comments?
Opportunities to submit feedback are tied to claims. In order for a member to submit feedback on a provider, the provider must have seen the member and submitted a claim. For every claim submitted, the member has an opportunity to complete the online survey once and submit a comment once.
Can I respond to member comments about me?
Yes, if you are registered with the Provider Center and you agree to the Terms of Use. Your response will be posted real-time directly below the member’s comment.
What is the process to respond to patient feedback through the Provider Center?
In order to respond to member comments through the Provider Center you or your designee must go through the authentication process. The first step toward authenticating is having access to Provider Center.
Once on the Provider Center, select the Patient Feedback link in the left navigation column. The Patient Feedback page will have three tabs; click on the “Change Provider” tab. You or your designee will be asked to enter the provider’s date of birth and National Provider Identifier (NPI). Once you or your designee have completed these fields, hit the submit button at the bottom. You will only be required to authenticate once. The authentication process can be delegated to a site administrator or office
manager so long as they have the provider’s date of birth and NPI.
Once you’ve gone through the authentication process, you’ll be able to respond to member comments by clicking on the “Respond to Feedback” tab and then clicking on the “More Comments” button. Please be aware that once you hit the submit button on a response, that response will be posted real-time.
What if I don't have an NPI to use for the authentication process on Provider Center?
An NPI is required to submit electronic transactions through the Provider Center. If you do not yet have an NPI, you can refer to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Web site for more information on how to obtain an NPI.
What can I do if I believe a member comment violates Regence Terms of Use or alleges egregious conduct?
If you believe a comment alleges egregious conduct or violates the Terms of
Use, please contact your provider
consultant or dental
services representative.
What can I do if I have questions or concerns about my patient feedback?
If you have questions about your patient satisfaction results, please contact your provider
consultant or dental
services representative.
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