Should access reps meet a higher standard?
Martine Saber, CHAM, director of patient access services for Baycare Health System in Clearwater, FL, would like to know of any health care organizations that are requiring their access representatives to be certified or have associate or bachelor’s degrees.
Saber says she has designed a "career ladder" for her employees that will compensate them according to education, certification, and skill level and is eager to hear what strides other hospitals have made in this direction.
"You get what you pay for," she says, with higher skill levels and higher pay resulting in more professionalism and productivity. "What I’m promoting is making my access services employees more professional by requiring that they be certified either with the new NAHAM [National Association for Healthcare Access Management] technical certification [see story, at right] or the CPAT [certified patient accounting technician] certification from AAHAM [American Association of Healthcare Administrative Manage ment]."
After looking at the material included in the new NAHAM examination, Saber notes, she will decide if both certifications are needed. "CPAT is focused on the business office and collections," she adds, "and is lacking on the clinical side — bed control and assignment."
[Editor’s note: If you have feedback for Saber, please call editor Lila Moore at (520) 299-8730 or send e-mail responses to [email protected]. Saber may be reached at Morton Plant Hospital, 323 Jeffords St., MS #43, Clearwater, FL. Telephone: (727) 462-7139. Fax: (727) 461-8488.]
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