Average ED Registration Cut From Hours to Minutes
May 1, 2017 2 minutes read
ED registrars at Portland-based Maine Medical Center recently switched to a first in, first out approach. Registrations are completed based on the order patients present — the same model used by the hospital’s admitting office and call center.
“Average time to complete registration, before this, was almost three hours. It is 37 minutes now,” Patty A. Johnson, CHAM, manager of ED patient registration, reports.
Productivity has improved significantly. “All reps are now completing registrations, instead of one or two carrying the load,” Johnson explains.
Previously, it took up to nine hours to complete a single registration. “The other day, we had 75 patients on the department, with only four registrations not completed — and all four signed up,” Johnson exclaims.
Based on Arrival Time
Under the old process, registrars were assigned to multiple patients at a time. “Who they completed first was random,” Johnson recalls. Typically, the lowest-acuity patients were processed first, and patients who would be in the ED longer were processed last.
Now, shift leaders assign each patient-access associate with a patient based on arrival time. The first patient in is the first registered.
“Our most critical patients have their information obtained timely, including next of kin,” Johnson says. Staffers obtain insurance information in case the patient is admitted so the payer can be notified immediately.
At first, registrars resisted the change. “They fought it hard,” Johnson says. “But after two weeks, they were impressed with the results.”
To get buy in from the clinical team, Johnson says, “We addressed this as a KPI. It resulted in better access to the patient.”
SOURCE
- Patty A. Johnson, CHAM, Manager, Emergency Department Patient Registration, Maine Medical Center, Portland. Phone: (207) 662-2102. Fax: (207) 662-6361. Email: [email protected].
Facility changed model so registrations are completed based on the order patients present.
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