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Taking vacation? It's a breeze to update your appointment availability before you go

You’re thinking about what to pack for your cruise…even though it’s still a few weeks away. You like to be prepared. You have a checklist:

• Book the pet sitter.
• Set up out-of-office response on your email and outgoing voicemail.
• Update appointment availability with Magellan. (Maybe that last item wasn’t on your list, but now it is!).

Updating your appointment availability is easy. You can do it well in advance, just as soon as you know the dates for your vacation:  Go to www.MagellanProvider.com and sign in securely with your username and password. From the left-hand menu, click Display/Edit Practice Information. The first tab that displays is the Provider Data Change Form. Select the “Appointment Availability” section to add/edit dates on which you know you will be unavailable. Remember it's important to attest to the accuracy of your practice information on a quarterly basis and anytime you make an update to your information. To fully complete this step, review each category (updated categories will reflect a green check mark), then click the red “I Attest” button.

Why it matters

Magellan understands that schedules are always changing and that it may not feel like it is worth the effort to update your status unless you’re going to be unavailable for a significant period.

• In a recent provider survey,* many providers indicated that the only way a member would know they (the provider) are not accepting new patients is by contacting them directly or through a notification on their voicemail.
• According to the survey, the top three reasons a provider would not notify a managed care organization/health plan when they are not accepting patients are:
  • Because a provider’s schedule is constantly changing.
  • They do not have time to complete the update process.
  • They don’t think it is necessary unless they’re unavailable for 30 days or more.

One of the most frequent complaints Magellan receives from members involves providers’ appointment availability not being updated. Some real – and very concerning – member comments include:

• “Yet another mental health therapist listed within a 10-mile radius of my zip code is not accepting new patients!”
• “None of the providers I have been given here are actually available. Updated providers would be less stressful while looking for help.”
• “My daughter was matched to a therapist that still has not responded. This is just making everything more stressful.”

As you can see from these comments from our member satisfaction survey, out-of-date provider information can lead to frustration and inconvenience for members seeking timely care. For this reason, Magellan encourages you to take the step of updating your appointment availability regularly (instructions above).

Regular updates to your practice information help meet NCQA, federal, and CMS regulations and ensure your listing continues to appear in Magellan’s provider directory so our members can find the valuable services you offer.

For more information

See the Magellan National Provider Handbook (PDF), Section 2 for policies about updating practice information.

Questions?

For questions about updating your practice information via the provider website, contact us at ProviderServices@MagellanHealth.com or chat with us at MagellanProvider.com.

*Magellan Provider iMput survey on appointment availability, April/May 2023