Hospital Access Management – February 1, 2019
February 1, 2019
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Abdominal Pain Was Not Appendicitis? Entire ED Visit Could Be Denied
After an extensive evaluation, it turns out that an ED patient with severe abdominal pain does not have appendicitis, only constipation. This is good news medically; financially, it is a different story. The patient may end up fully responsible for the entire cost of the ED visit, deemed “unnecessary” by the insurer. For the revenue cycle, this means lots of complaints, lost revenue, and bad debt.
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To Increase Kiosk Use Rates, Do Not Overlook Personal Connection
Kiosks are expensive investments that do not always pay off for hospitals. For patient access, kiosks face two big obstacles: finding the right patient and providing benefit to that patient.
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When Rotating Revenue Cycle Staff, Both Employees and Department Win
At small critical access hospitals, patient access employees might also cover rehabilitation, outpatient, scheduling, and the ED, which can spread the staff thin. Some facilities are starting to rotate staff in all four areas. This gives these employees a working knowledge of different department functions, can make the facility more efficient, and perhaps even boost employee morale.
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Obtaining Auths Monthly for Physicians Can Lead to Fewer Claims Denials
At first glance, offering to obtain authorizations on behalf of physicians’ offices sounds like a lot more work. However, a move like this can benefit the department in more ways than one.