Provider Appointment Availability Survey Is Here
| Date: | September 23, 2022 |
| To: | Health Plan of San Joaquin Providers |
| From: | Health Plan of San Joaquin Provider Services |
| Subject: | Provider Appointment Availability Survey Is Here |
| Business: | Medi-Cal |
Health Plan of San Joaquin (HPSJ) is required by the California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) to perform an annual Provider Appointment Availability Survey (PAAS).
The PAAS survey is conducted through email and phone calls and will be done in two waves. The first wave will start on September 26, 2022. The survey will conclude in December with the second wave beginning on November 28, 2022.
The success of the survey depends on your responses. This short survey will include simple questions about timely access. If your site(s) offers telehealth appointments for patients, you may include telehealth timeslots when answering the survey questions.
As a reminder, the table below demonstrates the Appointment Access Standards that provider offices are required to follow when making appointments for Medi-Cal members.
| Appointment Access Standards for Medical Services | ||
|---|---|---|
| Access to non-urgent primary care appointments – regular and routine care (with a PCP) | Within 10 business days of request | |
| Access to non-urgent appointments for mental health (non- physician1) | Within 10 business days of request | |
| Access to urgent care appointments that do not require prior authorization | Wait time not to exceed 48 hours of request | |
| Access to urgent care (specialist and other) services that require prior authorization | Wait time not to exceed 96 hours of request | |
| Access to non-urgent appointments with a specialist | Within 15 business days of request | |
| Non-urgent appointments for ancillary services | Within 15 business days of request | |
1 Per DMHC, non-physician mental health providers include counseling professionals, substance abuse professionals, and qualified autism service providers
(https://www.dmhc.ca.gov/Portals/0/Docs/DO/TAC_accessible.pdf)
You may contact our Customer Service Department with any questions or concerns, Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, at 1-888-936-PLAN (7526), TDD/TYY 711. Thank you for your continued support of Health Plan of San Joaquin. You may also visit https://www.hpsj.com/alerts/ for online access to this document and additional provider alerts previously shared. The most recent information about Health Plan of San Joaquin and our services is always available on our website https://www.hpsj.com/.