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Glossary of Provider Search Terms

Provider Type

  • Behavioral health and substance abuse: A provider licensed to help with the prevention and treatment of mental and substance abuse disorders (simplify)
  • Dental: A doctor who focuses on evaluating, diagnosing, and/or treating your teeth and any teeth-related issues
  • Durable medical equipment (DME)/Home health supplies: Rented or purchased medical equipment for use in the home such as walkers, beds and wheelchairs
  • Facility: A building or place that gives a specific service that may include pharmacy services
  • Hearing: A provider licensed to help manage hearing loss and other hearing issues
  • Home- and community-based provider: A provider who helps members in waiver groups with care in their home or the community
  • Home Health Agency (HHA): A company whose workers provide care in your home
  • Hospital/Facility: A place where you get treatment, services and surgery
  • Laboratory: Where tests are done to get information about your health
  • Long-term care: Home-and community-based services to help you live in your home or community instead of a facility
  • Long-term services and support: Services and supports for long-term care members
  • Pharmacy: The drugstore or store where you get prescription drugs
    .
  • Primary care provider (PCP): A family doctor who gives regular checkups, cares for you when you’re sick and refers you to other doctors
  • Specialist: A doctor whose practice is based on a certain kind of medicine or surgery
  • Therapies: Treatments to help you with physical, mental and social events
  • Transportation: The vendor who provides rides to and from provider appointments and health care services
  • Urgent care: A provider or walk-in clinic with medical help for when your PCP’s office is closed, but it’s not an emergency
  • Vision: Medically needed services for the care of your eyes

Product choices — Select from the drop-down menu; your health care product is on your ID card.

The provider/office staff:

  • Products (Participated In): What plan/products does this provider offer?
  • Provider Gender: Is this provider male or female?
  • Languages Spoken: What languages are spoken by the office staff and provider?
  • Board Certified: Has your provider taken/passed the industry-related tests?
  • Age Range Served: Does this provider only see adults or children?
  • Wheelchair Accessible: Is the office built for a wheelchair access?
  • Accepting New Patients: Is this provider/office taking new patients?
  • Specialties/Services Provided: What medical subject does this provider offer?
  • Provider Ethnicity: What race is this provider?

Affiliations

The hospital(s) this provider is contracted with to give services. Each hospital listing includes:

  • Hospital name
  • Hospital address
  • Maps and directions

Compare

Use the “Compare” tool when there is more than one provider offering what you need. You can look at three providers side by side.

Provider information is updated daily and may change. Please ask your provider before scheduling your appointment or getting services if he or she is still with BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York and accepting new patients.

The following information is reported by each provider:*

  • Office location
  • Specialty
  • Languages spoken
  • Affiliations
  • Office hours
  • Acceptance of new patients

*This information is updated upon request and/or every three years during recredentialing.

Hospital accreditation

A hospital’s accreditation tells you if the hospital has been endorsed (approved) by an outside group. The endorsement process includes a review of hospital’s:

  • Policies
  • Processes
  • Outcomes

This review helps make sure hospitals are giving safe, quality care. Hospital accreditation reports are online:

  • To view the hospital accreditation report from The Joint Commission (TJC), visit The Joint Commission's website and go to the Quality Check page. Search by hospital name or location. Choose provider or certification from the drop-down box.
  • To view the report from the Health Care Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP), visit the HFAP website. Accredited hospitals are listed by state under the “Accredited Facilities” tab.
  • To see the report from the National Integrated Accreditation for Healthcare Organization (NIAHO), go to the NIAHO site. Go to “Search Hospitals.” Search by hospital name, state or type of certification.
  • To read the report from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), visit the CARF site and search by hospital name. Or go to “Use Advanced Search.” Search by the provider’s name.