Physicians – Matching System Frequently Asked Questions
Last update 4/16/2008
History of recent changes / upgrades--What's new? History of recent changes / upgrades--What's new? 4/1/2008 - NEW FEATURE—We created downloadable tools to add to your website. 3/20/2008 - NEW FEATURE—Easily add your practice to the Alcohol Dependence treatment locator, without retyping anything 12/5/2007 - NEW FEATURE—The patient selection processes is more user friendly and intuitive, especially for first time or infrequent site users. (similar to purchasing online) 11/28/2007 - NEW FEATURE — The ability to recall the profiles of the patients you have emailed, along with your email response to them. 11/28/2007 - NEW FEATURE — Physician home page is easier and faster for physicians with multiple practice locations. You no longer need to “make active” a location before searching for patients. Simply click on “view patients” for each location directly from the home page. This saves time, especially for those with slow internet connections. 11/28/2007 - NEW FEATURE — Ability to set your default outgoing email message to patients at any time, not just when you send an email to a patient. This means you can set the default message even if there are no patients currently in range. 11/28/2007 - Complete redesign of the site layout. The new site will include a sidebar with common navigation items. It will allow for more information to be on each page. We are also adding to the educational portion of the site, and creating more educational printed material and downloadable PDFs. 11/28/2007 - NEW FEATURE — Text on most pages can be easily resized for comfortable reading. Click on the "Font Size" letter A to increase size. The more you click it the larger the font gets. 6/11/2007 NEW FEATURE —Your email contacts to patients are now also displayed on the patient’s home page. So if the patient misses or looses the email, they can still retrieve the contents of your email from the site. 6/5/2007 NEW FEATURE – Now you can hide patients from view that you have determined not to be an appropriate match. Click “Hide” in the upper right corner of each patient profile. 5/17/2007 NEW FEATURE - Access and "one click" registration for the optional discussion board has just been integrated with the matching system, making it as easy as it can be. When you log in, there will be an automatic way to register or log onto the discussion board. We have eliminated the need to remember separate usernames and passwords. 5/3/2007 NEW FEATURE- NOW you can customize and save the default email message to patients. We have had many physicians ask for this feature. Simply check the box next to "Save as default message to patients" just prior to sending your next patient email and that message will be saved for next time. You can change it as often as you like. I'm currently at my limit, should I still contact patients and put them on my waiting list? No. Please only contact patients when you have the capacity to treat them. Patients use the matching system to avoid being placed on a waiting list. Chances are very good that if you did place them on a list another physician will already be treating them by the time you have an opening. It will save everyone time by only contacting patients when you have availability.
How to increase from the 30 patient limit to 100.
Once completing the submission process, there is NO waiting period. You can treat an additional 70 patients from the instant you submit the email confirmation. Alternatively you can fax the notification: Pre-filled form or Blank form (fax: 240-276-1630) I received an alert email but when I logged in there were "0" patients on my list, why? This should no longer be a common problem with the 3-15-07 upgrades. If it does occur it means that at least 72 hours have passed since the patient was contacted by a physician , or the patient has opted out of the program. When a patient registers they will appear on the lists of all participating doctors within the mileage range the patient specified until one of the following occurs:
If they do not actually receive treatment form the physicians that contacted them for whatever reason they have the option to renew their status and will be back on the lists of all doctors except the ones who have already contacted them. In some parts of the country there will be competition to reach patients first (currently NYC). However, there are many many more patients in need than there is capacity to treat them. Other parts of the country, like Vermont, always have some patients on the list that have been unable to successfully connect with treatment. As patients become aware of the treatment the “pool” of patients will increase. 3-15-2007--Here is a demo of some of the recent upgrades (time 2 minutes): Summary of the new changes (PDF) How can I reach more patients? Help us make more patients aware of this program. Please contact SAMHSA/CSAT and suggest they add a prominent link to the NAABT National Patient/Physician Matching System so more patients that use the locator have this option as well. info@buprenorphine.samhsa.gov 1-866-287-2728 This would have an immediate impact on how many patients find treatment. CBS news, HBO, Faces and voices, Join Together, Reckitt Benckiser (manufacturer of Suboxone/Subutex) and some other organizations have already added the link to their sites. Many patients are finding this resource through these links. How to add a link to your website Patients can become discouraged quickly cold-calling a list of doctors who may or may not treat or have availability.
This matching system is reliable and has worked well, so well, we don't have any patients waiting in areas where we have enough participating physicians. In NYC patients are contacted by multiple physicians within minutes of registering. We just need more patients to be aware of the resource. We know they're out there.
We have begun an extensive patient outreach program in Boston, New York City, Detroit, and Philadelphia. If successful we will duplicate this program in the cities where we have the most participating physicians. (sample ads) --- Update: It was successful and in 2007 we have expanded and advertised in Baltimore, Miami, Tampa, Seattle, Pittsburgh, and throughout New Jersey. More cities are planned, where will be determined by need and your donations. I’m already on your physician locator; do I still need to register? Yes. The two are separate, registering for one does not put you on the other. Registering on the matching system will NOT place your name on any public list. We download the locator information from SAMHSA daily and only display it on our site. We don’t have the ability to change or add to those listings. How do I change my listing with SAMHSA? The optional discussion board is now accessible from the PPMS home page. Registering for the discussion board is now just a one click operation. You select a username for anonymity and the system assigns your PPMS password and creates your account. Can I list more than one location? Yes. If you have more than one location where you see patients, you can easily add this location to your profile. Log onto the physician homepage, and under "MY settings" in the left hand box click "add a location". For more detailed instructions of how to add a location see: Detailed instructions However, be sure you understand how the system works. The patients that appear on your list are not limited to your practice location zip code. They are from all area zip codes within the range the patient has specified. Adding fictitious practice locations in an attempt to reach more patients will not work. It will only list the same patients multiple times. Here’s a graphical illustration that shows why. http://naabt.org/education/images/Patient5.jpg Can I change my outgoing e-mail message? Yes. You can add to or delete the existing message and replace it with as many as 600 characters. You may also include website addresses. You can change and save the outgoing default message to patients. Simply write the new default message and before sending it to the patient, check the box next to " Save as default message to patients." The next time you log in the new message will appear in the outgoing email space. Another way to save your default message is under “my settings” on the physician home page, click “Update/Create default message” and you can save your message at any time. What if I want to change the e-mail address the "New Patient" alerts go to? You can do this by emailing us at MakeContact@naabt.org. Please include the old address and the new one along with your DEA#. The system cannot send to more than one email address. Remember, if you change your email address, you then will need to log in with that new address. How do I stop/start the alert emails when new patients register. This feature prevents you from logging in and continuously finding “0” patients on your list. You will be emailed as soon as a patient registers in range of your practice. Once you are at your limit you may want to shut this feature off and back on when you have openings or the limit is changed or removed. Immediately after you log in, the physician home page is displayed (the one that tells you how many patients are on the list) On this page, in the bottom left corner it asks: “Receive Update E-mails (when new patients sign up in your area) Click here to change settings.” Just click and uncheck/check the box. Important: Alert emails are sent from a "send only" mailbox. They all say "Do not Respond" at the top and if you do reply to it by email nobody will receive it. Be careful to follow the instructions given. How current is the list of patients? Alerts e-mails go out as soon as the patient registers. We have had patients register and have been contacted by a physician in less than 5 minutes. If they have not been contacted by a physician after two weeks they are sent a renewal email. This requires them to log in, if they are still seeking treatment, and renew their status. If they do not they are removed from the list. This leaves a list of patients never older than 2-3 weeks. Why don’t I get many patients calling me back? When a patient registers, an alert e-mails goes out to all participating doctors within range of the distance the patient specified. They remain on the physicians’ lists until one of the following occurs:
It is possible other doctors have reached them first and they found treatment with them. They may also have been contacted by a doctor closer to them that is more convenient. Also consider that the “window” of reaching out for help may have closed and the patient may not take that next step to actually make the phone call to set up an appointment. The number in the bottom right corner of the patient profile indicates how many other physicians have already contacted that patient. That should give you an idea as to the likelihood of a call back. Including “selling features” of your practice over that of a competing physician can only help. If you have a website, you can include it in the patient email. Are the list of patients just from the zip code of my practice? No. They are from all zips within the range the patients specifies when they answer the question: How far are you willing to travel?" When patients register within range of your practice they will appear on your list.Here's a graphic illustration of how the program works: http://naabt.org/education/images/Patient5.jpg This is a growing program, as more people learn about it, more patients will register. Entering fictitious practice locations will NOT help. Patients determine how far they will travel and will be unhappy if they are offered treatment far beyond that range. How can I find a patient who I have already contacted? Simple, under “my settings” of the physician home page click “View sent messages” and you will be able to recall the patient profiles that you have responded to along with your dated response to them. Where do the patients come from? We use the internet along with direct mail and some other local advertising to try and contact patients. Once a few patients in a particular geographic area are successful at finding treatment, word-of-mouth spreads and more patients register. Other organizations also link to our site as a service to their users. sample advertising Registration is simple for patients. Patients just fill out the 16 question form and click submit. Then they get email instructions when contacted or when it is time to renew. This can be used as a referral service if you cannot treat a patient seeking help from you for whatever reason. Here is the patient brochure: http://naabt.org/documents/waiting-list-instructions-patients.pdf Where can I get more information on the matching system? Physician instruction sheet (PDF) If you cannot find the answer to your question here, feel free to contact us at MakeContact@naabt.org |
