Demonstrating Web Functionality During a Survey

A number of standards in the Member Connections and Members’ Rights and Responsibilities categories of NCQA’s Health Plan Accreditation program require web-based functionality.  Demonstrating this functionality is a requirement of the survey process.

Unless access to your site is explicitly prohibited, most of the elements that require web-based functionality must be tested by the surveyors.  This means that you need to give the surveyors IDs and passwords, if required, to access and use the site.  Don’t forget to embed a hyperlink to the website in the ISS as well.

Not all of your web-based functions may be password protected.  Often, physician and hospital directories are available on a health plan’s public site.  Other functions, like changing a PCP or requesting a new ID card, are typically on a secure site accessible by ID and password only. 

If you cannot give surveyors access to your site to test the web-based functionality you should be prepared to demonstrate why access is not possible.  If surveyors cannot test the site itself, you should provide screen shots of the whole process accompanied by a step-by-step explanation of how the process works and what the screen shots demonstrate.