Training can get you a tech-savvy staff
It's a big obstacle
New associates starting right out of school or from some other service industry bring limited or no knowledge of the health care industry to the table. They may or may not have well-developed computer skills. As for medical terminology, it's likely to be a foreign language to them.
These are three big reasons why training is one of the biggest obstacles for patient access managers as they seek to implement new technologies.
"Quick learners who can adapt quickly to new technology or changes in technology functions will be needed," says James Hicks, CHAA, CHAM, CAM, patient access manager at Southeastern Regional Medical Center in Lumberton, NC. In addition, staff may need to be conversant enough with new technology to explain it to patients unfamiliar with palm vein scanners or photo capture devices, for instance.
"With the expanded scope of responsibility that now resides under the access umbrella, there is so much to learn and retain," says Jessica Murphy, CPAM, corporate director for patient access services at Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare in Memphis, TN. "Training and competency monitoring is an ongoing, constant need."
The need for technology support is "paramount in the patient access arena today," says Murphy. "But all of the bells and whistles in the world cannot replace the need for well-trained associates who see and understand the big picture."
Training protocol is used
Yvonne A. Chase, section head of patient access and business services at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix, says that one of her biggest challenges is providing adequate training for her staff. "If staff feel like they add value to an organization, they are more likely to stay," she says.
A training protocol was established by a small group of supervisors and systems training. "We established a checklist for each employee coming in to patient access," says Chase.
First, a systems overview is given, and then a training specialist gives department-specific training. "Each new employee works with a buddy who is their go-to person," says Chase. "Each person receives the amount of training they need to be efficient in their new role."
The organization's web site has detailed policies and procedures to help patient access staff whenever needed, adds Chase.
Trainer is hired
Three years ago, Methodist Le Bonheur determined that it no longer could meet its goals and standards without a dedicated trainer for patient access services. "We hired an associate with 20 years experience who loves to teach and is a skilled analyst," says Murphy. "Her contributions have made the investment in time and salary pay for itself."
Each month, three days of new associate training is provided, with subject-specific training sessions and one-on-one process or system training given when needed.
For example, the hospital developed its own insurance verification standards for all registration types. At the request of any patient access director or manager, small class sessions are held, which demonstrate how to verify coverage and how to document that verification.
Also, a process was recently implemented so that associate health areas can register, when necessary, pre-employment applicants for chest X-rays and/or laboratory tests. "We wrote a stripped-down controlled account 'conversation' to simplify the data entry piece, and trained that small group how to use the system," Murphy reports.
This year, the trainer/analyst and Murphy designed a full-day, mandatory training class for all access directors, managers, supervisors, and leads. A hands-on approach was used to demonstrate what their front-line staff are required to know and do in order to complete their work every day. "Our emphasis was on how to monitor quality, appropriately respond to questions, and hold associates accountable for meeting standards," says Murphy.
One-on-one training is used as a "second-tier" approach for associates who have attended a class but still seem to struggle when applying that training in the work setting.
"Occasionally, we will have a very unique service being provided to a select patient population, such as executive physicals, in a setting where only one or two associates provide all registration needs. We will sit one on one in such a work area and train them on the job," says Murphy.
Trainer analyzes system
Methodist Le Bonheur's trainer also routinely analyzes what is working well and what is failing, and the system or process can be modified as needed. For instance, one of the Uniform Bill-Patient Summaries changes required reporting of the state in which an accident occurred. The necessary modifications were made to capture that piece of information.
In order to ensure it would be captured, it was made a mandatory field for any registration where the question "accident related?" was answered "yes."
The problem is that if the answer is "no," the subsequent accident-related fields are hidden and allow the associate to move through the registration process at a faster clip.
"We tied our quality reports to bank against any record that had an 'accident' code modifier in the record," says Murphy. "What we found was that far too often the question was answered 'no' on the registration side."
To discourage staff from taking this shortcut, a quality report is run every day identifying ED records that are marked "no" relative to accident-related care. If a discrepancy is noted between the "not accident-related" designation and the nurse's triage notes, the access associate is counseled regarding quality. "We then have to go in and update the access record," says Murphy. "This has dramatically reduced the discrepancies in this quality indicator."
New associates starting right out of school or from some other service industry bring limited or no knowledge of the health care industry to the table. They may or may not have well-developed computer skills. As for medical terminology, it's likely to be a foreign language to them.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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