Practicefirst would like to inform you, that to ensure compliance with standards established by New York State for participating providers, Independent Health has partnered with an outside vendor, SPH Analytics, to conduct brief phone call surveys regarding appointment access and availability for their members.
Starting the week of August 24th, your office may receive a phone call from a surveyor from SPH Analytics. They may ask questions pertaining to your practice’s appointment availability times for both routine and after hours care as outlined in Independent Health’s Appointment Accessibility and After-Hours Access policy. This policy is posted in the Credentialing section under Policies on their secure portal.
This survey will be directed to specific types of providers, including primary care, cardiologists, dermatologists, medical oncologists, OB/GYNs, ophthalmologists, orthopedic surgeons, urologists, clinical neuropsychologists, psychiatrists, psychologists and certified social workers.
As an example, a surveyor from SPH Analytics would call a primary care office to discuss the scenario of a patient who calls to ask for the timeframe to schedule an appointment. Each discussion with an SPH Analytics surveyor is recorded and shared with Independent Health.
All scenarios presented are based on the following types of care:
Emergent
Urgent
Sick visits (routine non-urgent/emergent)
Routine, non-urgent or preventive care
Adult baseline and routine physicals
Any questions on this matter may be directed to Independent Health’s Provider Relations Department by calling (716) 631-3282, or via email at providerservice@servicing.independenthealth
