Hospital Access Management – November 1, 2015
November 1, 2015
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Access prepared for years for switch to ICD-10: Now is moment of truth
Patient access departments had extra time to prepare for the switch to ICD-10, due to the original compliance date being pushed back to Oct. 1, 2015. Now it’s the moment of truth, and the possibility of productivity or revenue cycle problems are at the top of managers’ minds.
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Answers to top ICD-10 questions
Exactly how the switch to ICD-10 will affect revenue and productivity is still unclear, but this much is certain: Patient access managers will be fielding a steady stream of questions from employees for some time to come.
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Patients like self-service collection — Investment in portals is paying off
The number of patients who enrolled to make online payments at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center increased by more than 500% in the past three years, reports Christopher Lah, senior director of patient access.
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$60,000 saved with payment portal — No need to send statements
After Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center went live with its payment portal three years ago, statement costs decreased by about 20%.
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Don’t just explain costs to patients: Share expertise
When telling patients how much they owe, patient access employees at Manhasset, NY-based North Shore-LIJ Health System work hard to convey the message, “We’re here to help you.”
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Patient access team members give family more than just a good clinical outcome
Recently, the daughter of an Australian man who’d had a severe stroke emailed a Kaleida Health physician in Buffalo, NY.
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Newly opened Access Center exceeds expectations of patients and providers
Recently, a patient was instructed to see a neurology group after being discharged from a Kaleida Health hospital in Buffalo, NY. The patient didn’t receive a return call from the physician office despite leaving several messages, and, in utter frustration, called the hospital.
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New data on uninsured released: Nearly half are eligible for coverage
New data gives patient access leaders a compelling reason to invest in tools, training, and revamped processes to convert self-pay patients to some type of coverage.
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Navigator role is more than greeter — Patients’ anxiety is alleviated
Any nervous patient arriving for surgery or a diagnostic test at Laurinburg, NC-based Scotland Health Care System now has a friendly face waiting for him or her.
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Keep access areas up and running during outages
Patient access staff members typically are well-prepared for standard downtime procedures.
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Healthcare providers must closely examine cloud-based storage and document-sharing services
Are you using an Internet-based storage document-sharing application with protected health information? If so, you might not have properly assessed the security of that application, and that missed step, alone, could be deemed a HIPAA violation.
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Do this immediately when you learn of a violation
You’re sitting at your desk, and someone walks in to inform you that there has been a HIPAA violation. What do you do next?
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Healthcare by far top target for cyberattacks
The healthcare industry sees 340% more security incidents and attacks than the average industry, according to a recent report.