Questions practices ask
Pricing, consent, files, the survey itself, Q524, security and your account.
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Pricing and billing
How much does it cost?
$0.32 per surveyed procedure on the Email plan, or $0.79 on the Email, text and calls plan, plus a one-time $25 setup fee. Monthly invoices paid by bank (ACH) are 5% off.
What exactly am I billed for?
Each procedure we send a survey for, once, when the first invitation goes out. Reminders and follow-up texts or calls cost nothing extra. Procedures we can't survey cost nothing.
Why is the price the same whichever way the patient is reached?
A flat rate keeps your invoice simple and predictable. On the Email, text and calls plan, an email-only patient costs the same as one we call.
When am I charged?
$25 at sign-up, then once a month for the procedures surveyed in the month before.
How do I get the bank discount?
Choose US bank account at checkout, or switch to it later from the Billing link. The 5% comes off every monthly invoice paid by bank.
Is there a contract or a minimum?
No. It runs month to month, and you can cancel by email at any time.
Can we be invoiced instead?
Larger groups can arrange invoiced billing at a negotiated rate. Email us.
Patients and consent
Which patients get a survey?
Adults with contact details and permission for at least one channel on your plan, seen at a facility you've switched on, whose procedure reaches us in time.
What consent do texts and calls need?
The patient's prior express consent to be contacted that way about the survey. The getting started guide has sample wording.
Do you survey children?
No. Patients under 18 are never contacted.
How often can a patient be surveyed?
At most once every 30 days, however many procedures they have.
How does a patient opt out?
By replying STOP to a text or using the unsubscribe link in an email. We stop contacting them that way right away.
A patient told us they want to opt out. What do we do?
Remove their consent mark in your next file, or email us, within 5 business days.
Files and uploads
What file types work?
CSV or Excel (.xlsx), with column names in the first row.
Our system's export doesn't match your list of fields.
That's fine. Any column names and order work. We set your layout up once, and later files in the same layout load on their own.
How often should we send files?
Whenever suits you. The sooner procedures reach us, the sooner patients are invited, and patients asked soon after their visit are more likely to respond. A procedure more than 3 weeks old when it arrives may be too late to survey.
We sent the same procedures twice.
No harm done. Repeats are matched, never duplicated and never billed twice.
Why was a file refused?
Either more than 5% of its rows couldn't be used, or it's in a new layout we haven't set up yet. The Upload Data page and our email tell you which.
How do we fix a mistake?
Send the corrected rows in your next file. Changed details are updated.
The survey
What does it ask?
The surgical and ASC survey has 13 short questions: being seen before surgery, staff friendliness, how risks and the care plan were explained, comfort, nausea and pain, overall satisfaction, whether they'd recommend the facility, and the CMS 1-to-5 anesthesia rating. The OB survey has 10, including epidural timing. Patients can also leave a comment.
How long does it take?
About 2 minutes, on any phone or computer.
Who is the message from?
Your practice, by name. Texts come from your practice's own number once registration is approved.
When do invitations go out?
Two days after the procedure, between 10 am and 7 pm the patient's time, with one reminder. Each survey closes 3 weeks after the procedure.
Can we change the questions?
The questions are standard, so your results compare fairly and your Q524 figures stay correct.
MIPS Quality Measure 524
Does this cover Q524?
It collects the responses and works out both Q524 rates for each TIN, within the measure's timing. You, or your registry, submit to CMS.
Do you submit to CMS for us?
No. MIPS reporting covers much more than this one measure, so we submit to CMS only for our full-service quality reporting clients, whose quality data we handle in full. Email us to learn more about full-service reporting.
What if CMS changes the 2027 specifications?
We follow the current specification and update the service when CMS publishes its final 2027 version.
Security and privacy
Is it HIPAA compliant?
It's built for it. We sign a Business Associate Agreement with every practice, collect only the fields the survey needs, and limit your results to your practice's users. Your data stays in a secure US data center that also operates under a BAA.
Does Stripe see patient information?
No. Stripe sees only your practice's details and how many procedures were surveyed.
Your account
Who can see our results?
The users at your practice that we set up. Email us to add someone.
How do we add a facility?
Email us the facility's name as it appears in your files. We'll match it and switch it on.
How do we cancel?
Email us. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing month, and you can download your reports for 30 days afterwards.
Still have a question?
Most answers are in the getting started guide and the FAQ. If yours isn't, email CustomerService@SpecialtyBenchmarks.com and we'll reply within 1 business day, or call 207-688-8486, Monday to Friday, 8 am to 5 pm Eastern.
Please include your practice name and, for a file, its name and when you uploaded it. Never send patient names or other patient details by email.