Internet, 'VoiCentral' registration options
Numbers small, but growing
Some outpatients at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) are being preregistered on their own timetable by choosing to provide their information via the Internet or an automated telephone process called VoiCentral, says Mica Dunn, CHAM, CHAA, manager of the outpatient registration department.
While the numbers are small at present 10 or 12 patients a week between the two programs her hope is that the two methods will increase in popularity with the establishment of an ambulatory business center that is now in the planning stages, Dunn adds.
The outpatient Internet registration process went live in August 2007, she says, following her appointment as manager in January, and registration via VoiCentral was made available about the same time.
Because the Internet registration option is available only to outpatients making appointments at one of the 10 clinics served by her staff, Dunn notes, there is some potential for customer confusion.
It must be explained on the web page, she says, that only patients going to those clinics may click on the link to preregister on-line, and that others may do so by calling a telephone number that is provided. There are plans, Dunn says, to include a notice telling patients that they will be informed when other clinics are added to the list.
The site also allows for Internet preregistration by inpatients and labor and delivery patients, she adds, but those functions are handled by staff in the hospital admissions department.
At present, both departments are notified through "a global e-mail for central admissions" when someone preregisters on-line, and staff must go inside the message to see whether it's an inpatient or outpatient account, Dunn says. "Someone is assigned to check anything that comes in.
"I want to have [the process] changed so that we get our e-mails and they get theirs," she adds.
Some other tweaking has been necessary, Dunn adds, including a small change to the way telephone and Social Security numbers are entered on the registration form.
"People were filling in dashes and [the system] was leaving out the last two numbers," she says, so the form was adjusted to include the dashes.
After the first few on-line registrations, she called those patients to ask for feedback on their experience, Dunn says. "I have not had any negative comments. They all said they liked it and would do it again.
"I recently have created a survey for patients to fill out," she notes. "The link is live, but we're in the process of working out the bugs." Still to be added, Dunn says, is a prompt at the end of the registration that leads people to the survey.
At the beginning of the process, she notes, patients are asked if they want to be notified via e-mail that the registration has been received and, if so, to include their e-mail address. To date, all those preregistering on-line have chosen to get their confirmation the same way, Dunn adds.
A section on the site for frequently asked questions, she notes, addresses such concerns as:
- Is it secure?
- How long does it take?
- What information do they need?
- How do I know I have been preregistered?
With the VoiCentral system, Dunn says, staff do not receive automatic notification of incoming registrations, but must call every morning to see if there is anything there for them to handle.
While Dunn was initially concerned that patients would not like the experience of verbally completing a registration in response to a series of prompts, she says the reaction from those who have tried it has been positive.
Patients reported that the VoiCentral system, which gives one registration option for new patients and another for existing patients, was slow enough to allow comfortable response time, adds Dunn, who notes that it also lets users pause during the process.
A couple of adjustments did need to be made, she says, one of which had to do with questions about the person's "referring physician" and "primary care physician."
"Many times the primary care physician is also the referring physician," Dunn explains, "so patients would say, 'I don't understand why you're asking me that.'"
The language was changed, she says, to clarify the distinction that was being made.
While the VoiCentral process is geared toward new patients, Dunn notes, one of the side benefits has been help in reaching existing ones.
"If we leave a message during the day for [an existing patient] we've been trying to reach who's coming in the next day, we tell them that after hours they can do the registration on-line or through VoiCentral."
If the patient does so, she adds, that makes it possible for staff to pick up the information the next morning and update the account before the person's appointment time.
At present, Dunn says, the Internet registration option is marketed through the distribution and display of flyers and brochures at the clinics for which her department preregisters. The brochure advertises the fact that registering on-line or through VoiCentral, for which it provides the phone number saves time on the day of service and that it can be done any time, day or night, she adds. "It also gives the option of faxing or mailing the information two weeks in advance."
Staff weed out calls concerning clinics for which the appointment center does not make appointments, Dunn notes, and forward those to the appropriate place an individual clinic or physician's secretary.
[Editor's note: Mica Dunn can be reached at [email protected].]
Some outpatients at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) are being preregistered on their own timetable by choosing to provide their information via the Internet or an automated telephone process called VoiCentral, says Mica Dunn, CHAM, CHAA, manager of the outpatient registration department.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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