QI Report
Magellan Members Express Satisfaction: An Indicator of Service Quality
One of the most significant indicators of the quality of our performance is the level of our members’ satisfaction. Magellan surveys members to determine the degree to which their expectations are met by both Magellan and our providers. We review the survey results and compare them with the data from our core quality-of-care and service indicators. The resulting comprehensive picture helps us to identify areas of high performance, and where we have an opportunity to improve.
In most instances, Magellan uses a combination of mail and/or Web surveys; however, our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) surveys are personally handed to members by their providers at the time of their visits. We conduct surveys at least once a year.
We are pleased that 2007 survey results demonstrate that, overall, Magellan’s service continues to be highly rated by our members. Our providers are the primary vehicle for delivery of that service, so a tremendous amount of credit goes to you!
In 2007, more than 25,450 members responded to our surveys.
Overall Satisfaction with Magellan’s Services
| Program | Percent Satisfied | Number of Respondents |
|---|---|---|
| Behavioral Health | ||
| --Health Plan | 93% |
5,801 |
| --Employer | 89% |
2,288 |
| --Public Sector | 83% |
7,439 |
| EAP | 98% |
9,923 |
Overall satisfaction is high, reflecting a trend sustained for the past several years. The lone exception is Public Sector, where rates were below the target of 85 percent; however, they did not decrease with any statistical significance from 2006.
In general, satisfaction scores relating to our provider network were high—a direct reflection of your commitment to providing quality behavioral health care:
| Provider-Related Survey Items | EAP |
Health Plan |
Employer |
Public Sector |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Overall satisfaction with therapist |
98% |
94% |
94% |
86% |
Convenience of appointment times |
96% |
91% |
95% |
N/A |
Treated with courtesy and respect/helpfulness |
96% |
97% |
90% |
87% |
Member Outcomes |
|
|
|
|
Helped by treatment/services received |
98% |
85%* |
94% |
83%* |
* Summation of scores related to helpfulness
Opportunities for Improvement
Magellan is committed to addressing all areas where satisfaction did not meet our performance standards and looks forward to collaborating with you to meet some of these challenges. Based on key driver analysis of those items in the survey that best support members’ satisfaction with services, we identified areas that present the greatest opportunities for improvement due to their less-than-desirable ratings. The following is a list by program type.
Behavioral Health Members
Health Plan
- Complaint resolution
- Clarity of payments required for counseling or treatment
- Ease of finding a therapist/counselor.
A Deeper Look at the Data:
Our Key Driver Analysis
The key driver analysis is designed to highlight the leading service issues by identifying questions whose responses most closely associate with overall satisfaction, and measuring performance in terms of percent positive responses for those questions. We use the “gamma” statistic to measure the strength of the relationship or association between results for a specific question in the questionnaire and the general question of "Overall satisfaction with the services provided by Magellan" (Overall Satisfaction).
We plot percent satisfied versus each question’s level of relationship or association (as measured by the gamma statistic) with overall satisfaction. “For those of you who enjoy metrics and the gory details, since we are interested in ‘key drivers’ only, in this analysis, we look at the questions having a gamma of 0.30 or higher where the measured association between questions is significant (p-value less than the significant threshold, a = 0.05),” instructs Suzan Lumpkin, Magellan’s vice president, evaluation and outcomes.
Quality improvement efforts may be focused on questions where the degree of association with overall satisfaction is highest and percent satisfied rating is lowest. As supporting information in the process of selecting targeted quality efforts, we identify areas where service improvements and/or interventions may increase the overall satisfaction rating.
Employer
- Facility or treatment program staff competence
- Difficulty in receiving care you and your provider believed was necessary
- Match between the therapist's skills/specialty and your concerns.
Public Sector
- The choice of providers available to you
- Partnership with staff to manage your condition after treatment ends (Only significant for adults’ and not minors’ responses).
EAP Members
EAP scores reflect items below 95 percent satisfaction but, as always, we believe opportunities for innovation in our products to meet our customers’ ever-evolving needs exist:
- Combining satisfaction survey data with other measures to better inform our processes
- Looking for additional measures that may reflect less-positive variations in satisfaction and/or demonstrate added value for our customers.
Overall, 95 to 98 percent of EAP, Employer and Health Plan members expressed their willingness to use Magellan’s services again.
We continuously improve our survey process and plans for the future. In 2008, we are focusing on the inclusion of member satisfaction data in provider profiling reports. We plan to expand the survey methodologies to include a request for e-mail addresses of members, in support of our goal to expand Web and electronic access to information for members, and improve the efficiency of our survey processes. We thank you for supporting our survey feedback efforts, particularly the in-office distribution of the EAP surveys.
For information on survey results for your geographic area, click the link to your care management center below.
Southeast (DE, NJ, PA, GA, NC, TN)
Tristate (IN, OH, WV, NV, MD, DC, VA)
Some Magellan Care Management Centers listed above may manage services for health plan, employer and public sector customers not located in the same geographic area as the service center. Check the state listings in parentheses to be sure you’re reading all the information pertinent to you in serving your Magellan members.