Stop Registration Delays With ‘One-call’ System
May 1, 2017 2 minutes read
Unexpected bottlenecks at registration at Baptist Health Lexington (KY) occurred for one of two reasons: An order was missing or incomplete, or an authorization wasn’t in place.
Either way, it meant a time-consuming phone call to the physician’s office, whose multitasking staffers routinely placed registrars on hold.
“Hold times, no matter how long, are extremely inconvenient. It all added to the overall time we spent on these accounts,” says Myndall V. Coffman, MBA, director of patient access.
With the department’s new “one-call” scheduling system, an order and fact sheet are faxed directly to the scheduling office.
“This process eliminated several useless workflows we were seeing,” Coffman says.
The flurry of calls between registrars and the physician’s offices are a thing of the past. “This process is extremely helpful for physician offices,” Coffman notes. “It is also a huge timesaver for the facility.”
Too often, patient access received an order that wasn’t what the office had originally scheduled. Usually, this meant obtaining a new authorization — and more phone calls. With the new process, “we are able to determine that we have a signed, compliant order right away,” Coffman says. “This eliminates the back and forth with the office because of scheduling conflicts.”
At that point, registrars contact patients directly to:
- obtain accurate demographic and insurance information;
- run insurance eligibility;
- give a price estimate;
- collect the patient’s out-of-pocket responsibility.
Obtaining complete information prior to service “is a no-brainer. It is imperative,” Coffman stresses.
All most patients must do is sign documents when they arrive for service.
“This results in quick flow from registration to the service area,” Coffman says.
Additionally, registrars contact the insurance company right after speaking with the patient.
“This ensures that we are obtaining an auth for the exact services we are providing — at the correct location,” Coffman explains.
With all this completed prior to the patient’s arrival, the patient can bypass registration. A simple check-in process can occur at the service area.
“With this workflow perfected on the front end, we have seen amazing results in our registration timing metrics,” Coffman reports.
SOURCE
- Myndall V. Coffman, MBA, Director, Patient Access, Baptist Health Lexington (KY). Phone: (859) 260-2162. Fax: (859) 260-6935. Email: [email protected].
Process puts stop to time-consuming calls.
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