Hospital Access Management – July 1, 2012
July 1, 2012
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Are access employees struggling with new skill sets? Don't let them fail
Recent changes for patient access staff at BayCare Health System in Tampa, FL, include registration kiosks, palm vein biometric devices, and new consent forms that all patients have to sign. -
Registrar isn't up to par? Ask this
Is an employee simply unable to keep up with the workload? Or is the employee simply not suited to working in a department where expectancy of service excellence is a requirement? -
Train staff in these 3 skills
The single biggest challenge for registrars is all the multi-tasking they need to do, according to Cynthia Norman-Bey, director of patient access services and the PBX (private branch exchange) Call Center at Glendale Adventist Medical Center. -
Patients will expect same-day scheduling
Can I get this diagnostic test done here today?" If the answer to this question is "no," the patient standing in front of you might go elsewhere for services, warns Jennifer Nichols, director of patient access at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, MI, where same-day scheduling is now offered to radiology patients. -
No authorization for same-day service?
Authorizations for high-dollar diagnostic tests are the single biggest problem with same-day scheduling, according to Wendy M. Roach, RDMS, manager of patient access and central scheduling at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington, IL. -
'Same day' means less time to collect
There is not only less time to collect the patient's out-of-pocket responsibility if a service is scheduled for the same day; there's also less time for the patient to make an informed decision if needed, says Jennifer Nichols, director of patient access at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, MI. -
Stop denials for 'notice of admission'
If a patient is admitted at 10 a.m. Friday to Virtua Hospital in Marlton, NJ, members of the patient access staff have only until 10 a.m. Saturday to notify the insurance company. -
Ask staff to flag problem applicants
After an applicant for an emergency department patient access position admitted she had difficulty multi-tasking, it became clear she really wasn't a good fit for the job after all, says Ebony Seymour, CHAM, manager of admissions and registration at Palmetto Health Richland in Columbia, SC. -
Top skill you should look for? Service
Just because someone has ample experience with your specific admission/discharge/transfer system, that experience doesn't necessarily make them a good fit for a patient access position in your department, warns Brian Sauders, manager of patient access services at Indiana University Health North Hospital in Carmel and Indiana University Health Saxony Hospital in Fishers. -
Can patients obtain price quotes on website?
Although 9,700 transactions were paid online by patients, totaling over $2 million in a nine-month period in 2011 and 2012 on San Diego-based Sharp HealthCare's website, those same patients can't yet obtain price quotes for services electronically. -
Give a spot-on quote: It requires research
A prospective patient at St. Anthony's Medical Center in St. Louis, MO, can request a price quote be worked up by filling out a simple form on the hospital's website. -
Patients might owe more at your facility
Even if a payer considers your hospital to be "in network," it might cost a patient more to obtain a service at your facility due to varying tiers of benefits for various facilities. -
Save 30 minutes by notifying online
At times, registrars are stuck on the phone for 30 minutes before even speaking to a representative, when notifying a payer of a patient's admission, says Amy Lloyd, patient access coordinator at Trinity Muscatine (IA). -
Denials cut with this process
Previously, 10 to 20 claims were denied each month at WakeMedHealth and Hospitals in Raleigh, NC because of failure to notify the payer. -
Be involved before switch to new ADT system
Before a new admission/discharge/transfer (ADT) system was implemented at Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL, three patient access leaders were pulled from their previous jobs and worked full-time on the system implementation. -
Make 'go live' go smoothly
On the morning a new admission/discharge/transfer (ADT) system was going live at one of Fort Myers, FL-based Lee Memorial Health System's hospitals, Colleen Edwards, system director of registration and patient business services, had "a huge fear we would have lines of people, going all the way out the door. But that's not what happened."