Frequently Asked Questions What is the Member Feedback feature and when will it be released? How do I determine whether I have member feedback results? How can I access my member feedback results? What has Regence done to encourage the responsible use of this new tool? What can I do if I have questions or concerns about my member feedback results? What if I don't have an NPI to use for the authentication process on Regence Online Services for Providers? What is the process to respond to member comments through Regence Online Services for Providers? Can I respond to member comments about me? How long will comments be posted on myRegence.com? How many times can a member leave comments? How many comments must there be for a given provider before they are visible to other members? What will Regence do to encourage members to provide feedback? Will members be able to see results for any provider? What can I do if I believe a member comment violates Regence Terms of Use or alleges egregious conduct? Can results be posted for both participating and non-participating providers?

Member Feedback Toolkit Frequently Asked Questions Sample Member Survey (PDF) Sample Member Feedback Tool (PDF)

What is the Member Feedback feature and when will it be released?
The Member Feedback 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 Web site, Regence members have completed nearly 14,500 online surveys since October 2006. In December 2007, Regence modified the survey tool to provide members with the opportunity to share written comments about their experiences with other members.

On January 13, 2008, Regence made both the aggregated numerical survey results collected since 2006, and individual member comments collected since December 2007, available to those providers who had received feedback. After this initial provider preview period, access to the numerical survey results will be expanded to Regence members and guests on March 3, 2008, through myRegence.com. By April 6, 2008, Regence plans to make member comments available to other members on myRegence.com.

How do I determine whether I have member feedback results?
To quickly determine whether you have member feedback results go to the alphabetical links on the Member Feedback page of our public Provider Web Site.

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 Regence Online Service for Providers.

How can I access my member feedback results?
Registered User
If you are already registered on Regence Online Services for Providers, you will be able to view your member feedback results through the “Patient Survey Results” link on the home page of Regence Online Services for Providers.

If a third-party manages your access (site administrator, 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 e-mail. E-mails received through this link will be routed to Regence’s Provider Services or Dental Services teams for a response.

PLEASE NOTE: When viewing member feedback results, there is an option to respond to member postings. This feature requires additional authentication above and beyond your Regence Online Services for Providers 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 Regence Online Services for Providers, we strongly encourage you to do so. To find out how you and/or your designee can register for Regence Online Services for Providers, please refer to the enclosed Regence Online Services for Providers flier.

If your current office system does not meet the technical requirements for Regence Online Services for Providers or you would like a paper copy of your results while waiting for access, please contact your Regence Provider Services or Dental Services representative or e-mail us.

What has Regence done to encourage the responsible use of this new tool?
The nature of this online tool means that members will have the opportunity to share information with other members in a semi-public setting, creating a level of transparency and directness among our members that has not previously been available.

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 new feature, including the following:

1. Member feedback is tied to a specific claims experience;
2. Members will be 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;
3. 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.
4. Regence will review 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 plan to 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 feedback tool is not meant to generate statistically valid results, but to allow a free exchange of information and opinions among Regence members. The tool will identify the total number of surveys/responses submitted as well as the number of unique users who submitted those responses.

Once on Regence Online Services for Providers, 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.