Hospital Access Management – February 1, 2012
February 1, 2012
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Is self-pay patient eligible? Find out in real time, or close to it
If a self-pay or underinsured patient presents to you for services, how quickly can you determine if he or she is eligible for Medicaid or another public program? -
Prevent problems with privacy regs
Compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a major area of concern for patient registration areas, according to Nancy Dean, vice president of compliance, privacy and internal audit at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City. -
Proven responses for access complaints
A message left by a patient on the voicemail of Brian Sauders, manager of patient access services at Indiana University Health North Hospital in Carmel, stated that although the service was quick and effective, she perceived the registration experience to be "cold." -
Service tracked with these steps
At BayCare Health System in Clearwater, FL, one of the trainers in the admitting and registration department is dedicated solely to improving customer service provided by registration team members. -
Finance questions? You have the answers
Registrars at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis field five or six calls every day from patients asking detailed questions about what services will cost them, says Laura Florine, manager of patient financial care services. "Patients may postpone care if they are not sure about the cost of the service," she adds. -
Service may not be covered? Tell patient
If a pre-certification is required prior to service, registrars at TriHealth in Cincinnati do everything in their power to be sure it's obtained. However, if this is not obtained prior to service, employees are required to get a Notice of Non-Coverage signed, reports Stacey Bodenstein, general manager of admitting and registration. -
Don't be misled by vague survey data
When a patient answered "very satisfied" to a survey question about how many times a call was transferred, patient access leaders at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston had no way to know if the patient had called the inpatient admissions unit or the hospital gift shop. -
Share key metrics with clinical areas
Hundreds of revenue cycle metrics were shared with the Cleveland (OH) Clinic's 22 clinical institutes each month, but much of the information wasn't relevant to them, according to Susan M. Milheim, senior director of revenue cycle management. -
Improve jointly with clinical areas
To collaborate with clinical areas on quality improvement, Stacy Calvaruso, CHAM, assistant vice president of patient management at Ochsner Health System in New Orleans, assigns her staff members to projects involving both areas. -
Staff uncomfortable collecting? Role play
To get staff more comfortable collecting, Berdia Thompson, admissions supervisor at Hendrick Medical Center in Abilene, TX, suggests asking staff to participate in role playing exercises with individuals from another department. -
Ask staff to ID why copay uncollected
If a copay isn't collected at Cincinnati (OH) Children's Hospital Medical Center, patient access trainers want to know the reason why. This information is important, says Michelle Gray, MHA, director of patient access and outpatient registration, because it helps you to identify areas needing improvement to increase copay collection rates. -
Give patients a sense of urgency
Many patients tell registrars at Abilene, TX-based Hendrick Medical Center, "Just bill me later," or, "I'll make payment arrangements after my insurance has been billed." -
Get staff competent in multiple areas
Members of your patient access staff might act as customer service clerks, financial counselors, and patient advocates all within an hour, and they also are tasked with providing accurate directions within the medical center, according to Chris Hatcher, registration manager for Sutter Delta Medical Center in Antioch, CA. -
Satisfaction soars with cross training
Cross-training is important not only for staffing coverage, but it also gives staff a better understanding of the revenue cycle as a whole, according to Roxana Newton, patient access supervisor at Porter Adventist Hospital in Denver.