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The utilization of services by self-pay patients has increased by 6.9% over the last fiscal year at St. Joseph's Hospital and Candler Hospital, both located in Savannah, GA, says Susan M. Younggreen, director of patient financial services.
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Since Pam Kast's office is part of the main admitting area in her hospital, she sees and hears her staff in action on a daily basis.
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Before a patient access employee starts work at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, MI, he or she takes a proficiency exam, says Patti Burchett, director of registration and central scheduling. "That is the first level of us being able to assess whether they 'get it' or not, before they even hit the door."
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Holly Hiryak, MNSc, RN, CHAM, director of hospital admissions/access services at the University Hospital of Arkansas in Little Rock, says that while financial counseling is not a new role for her access staff members, the role has become considerably more complex.
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Your patients probably expect that they'll be able to pay their hospital bills online, just as they do with all their other bills. "More and more, people are paying all their bills online," says Kathy Peterson, director of patient financial services at CVPH Medical Center in Plattsburgh, NY. "They don't have to write a check, don't have to get a stamp, and can wait till the final due date to pay. It is instantaneous."
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As hospitals add more palliative care services, ethical issues arise that sometimes cannot be handled solely by a hospital ethics board because a broader community perspective is necessary.
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Palliative care once was a rare treatment option in the hospital setting, but in recent years it has grown in popularity to the point that most major hospitals and many small-to-mid-sized hospitals have palliative care programs available for patients, an expert says.
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Fresh research on burnout in the medical profession makes it clear that hospital ethics boards need to be proactive on this issue. Their role could include educating and suggesting policies to prevent physician and resident burnout and any resulting repercussions.
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Clinical ethics consultations still are infrequent in most hospitals, but their use is beginning to enter ethics board conversations, and it's an area that should be approached with cautious preparation, an expert says.
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The default policy of many hospitals is to have clinicians perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on dying patients except when there is a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) medical order signed by the patient.
