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The cervical spine x-rays of a motor vehicle accident victim with a chief complaint of neck pain appear normal, but fractures are later picked up by a computed tomography (CT) scan.
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When contacted by the radiologist with a discrepancy, what should you do first?
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A patient presents with a traumatic dirty wound which is not cleaned completely, and is closed by the ED physician with contaminant still present. The debris in the wound causes an infection resulting in tissue loss, which must be repaired by a plastic surgeon with an extensive skin graft.
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A National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey indicates that the number of medical emergency department (ED) visits for psychiatric-related reasons jumped from 17.1 to 23.6 per 1,000 population between 1992 and 2001.
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According to the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association, the economic stimulus package passed by Congress last year included several changes to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) involving privacy of patient information:
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What's a shared user name between friends?
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These days, access is seeing many patients who simply cannot pay what they're told they owe. In light of this reality, staff will need to be ready for some uncomfortable moments.
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Common obstacles in good communication between patient access departments and physician offices include: duplication of patient demographic data, communication barriers due to turnover in physician practices, or discrepancies in physician billing requirements vs. hospital requirements.
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To avoid making a bad situation worse, your staff should be prepared to smooth things over before an angry patient walks away. This sounds difficult, but can be surprisingly simple.