Satisfaction soars with cross training
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.
"It is vital for patient access associates to be cross-trained in different areas of the field," she says.
Newton notes that emergency department registration, outpatient registration, financial counselors, and centralized scheduling departments fall under the organization's patient access umbrella. "It all begins with the central schedulers and ends with the patient's arrival," says Newton. "Every piece is extremely important. Staff that have worked in different areas realize this, because they then have an understanding of the system." These steps occur at Porter Adventist:
The central scheduler obtains the order from the physician, and adds the patient to the schedule. "They pre-register the patient for their appointment over the phone, to obtain the insurance information for the financial counselors," says Newton.
Once the patient is placed on the schedule, that in turn notifies the financial counselor to get authorization for the procedure and verify the patient's benefits.
The health benefit advisor or financial counselor then calls the patient to let him or her know the amount due at the time of service. He or she notes the account to alert the registrar of what to collect when the patient arrives.
When the patient checks in the day of the test, the payer already has been notified, and the patient is aware and ready to pay their financial responsibility, says Newton.
"The total experience for the patient is much smoother," she says. "A registrar who has done these job functions is able to answer the patient's questions, whether it is about benefits or the exam."
Cross-training has improved patient satisfaction and made staff more productive, says Sandra N. Rivera, RN, BSN, CHAM, director of patient access at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center/St. Joseph's Wayne Hospital, both in Paterson, NJ. "In order to be successful, staff must be trained to be able to complete the functions in a competent manner," Rivera says. "A process must be set up so staff is trained in each department and then rotates through the area."
This process allows staff members to practice and keep up their skills, along with decreasing any anxiety staff members might have when going to cover a different department, she says. "Standardization of process, computer systems, and policies are essential to decrease any possible errors or delays," Rivera adds.
As hospital budgets get tighter, patient access departments must find ways to provide excellent patient care without compromising quality, says Rivera. "Flexibility in staff is required, to be able to shift where the need is in the healthcare setting," she adds.
Patients get more help
At Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus, registration staff are being cross-trained in the financial counseling area, reports Jamie Kennedy, a patient access supervisor.
"Our registration staff are on the front line every day," Kennedy says. "They constantly receive questions from patients regarding their financial assistance or even just basic insurance questions."
With financial counseling training, Ohio State's registrars are able to offer more assistance to each patient that comes through the door, she says. "It gives them a bigger knowledge base. They see what other areas of patient access are out there," Kennedy says. "They see the bigger picture of how each section of patient access affects each patient in a different way."
Because members of the registration staff are trained in multiple areas, they can be rotated through those areas when coverage is greatly needed, says Kennedy. "They can jump right into the job with little to no learning curve," she says. "This increases productivity of the patient access department as a whole."
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.Subscribe Now for Access
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