Survey Indicates That PCPs Find Information from Behavioral Health Providers Useful
One of the Magellan Tristate Care Management Center’s health plan partners, CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield, recently surveyed its BlueChoice primary care physicians (PCPs) regarding how regularly they receive feedback from specialists, and the usefulness of the feedback. They identified the following:
- Sixty-one percent of PCPs are highly satisfied with the usefulness of information received from behavioral health practitioners; however,
- Twenty-five percent of PCPs reported receiving the least amount of feedback from behavioral health practitioners (in comparison with other specialists).
Magellan believes that collaboration among providers participating in a member’s health care is essential for the delivery of integrated quality care. The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) also emphasizes the importance of monitoring the coordination of care between behavioral health practitioners and PCPs.
What can you do to improve PCP communication?
To support improved continuity of care, we encourage you to take an active role in communication.
- Coordinate care with PCPs, beginning with obtaining written authorization to communicate with the PCP from the member. Members can authorize communication about relevant treatment information, information about medications only, or decline permission to share information. Magellan has developed and posted online a Clinician Communication Form for your use, as well as a sample Authorization to Disclose Information to PCP Form.
- After obtaining the member’s authorization, request the PCP’s name, address and telephone number from the member. To ensure that care is coordinated between Magellan providers and CareFirst members’ PCPs, we also have provided a link to the CareFirst provider directory on this provider website. After you sign in with your username and password, you can find the link under My Practice/My Contact List/Look up Contact Info.
Upon obtaining appropriate authorization, you should communicate in writing to the PCP, at a minimum, at the following points in treatment:
- Initial evaluation
- Significant changes in diagnosis, treatment plan or clinical status
- After medications are initiated, discontinued or significantly altered
- Termination of treatment.
The Magellan National Provider Handbook, Section 3 – Continuity, Coordination and Collaboration, contains further details on policies and procedures for communication with other health care providers.
We appreciate your efforts in this area, which helps improve member care.