Hospital Access Management – July 1, 2007
July 1, 2007
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Without proper technology in place, call center leadership 'managing blind'
Health care organizations that are operating a call center or centralized scheduling department without the appropriate technology as a foundation might as well put blindfolds on their managers, suggests Judith Brown, president of Brown Healthcare Consulting in Chicago.Special training required for call center environment
Customer service training is a crucial -- but sometimes forgotten -- piece of the training needed to prepare call center employees for the demands of the job, says Judith Brown, president of Chicago-based Brown Healthcare Consulting.Check-in kiosks keep expansion 'FTE neutral'
The biggest challenge regarding the implementation of registration kiosks at the Medical Center of Central Georgia (MCCG) in Macon was "just trying to arrive at the place where our organization was ready to present self-service."Costly errors are common in same-day surgery arena
Mistakes involving patient classification and preauthorization of procedures are among a lengthy list of common errors made in the same-day surgery arena.Signature again required on 'Important Message'
Years ago, in an effort to reduce paperwork and bureaucracy -- and after a lengthy and passionate campaign by providers -- what is now the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) eliminated the signature requirement, deciding that giving patients the information upon admission was sufficient.Emergency-related FAQs addressed by lawyer group
"Lessons Learned From the Gulf Coast Hurricanes," recently published by the American Health Lawyers Association, looks at legal issues that arose in the context of the 2005 hurricanes.EMTALA counts remain in Puerto Rico hospital case
The U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, in a recent decision, has refused to dismiss a case brought by the survivors of Alfonso Domenech, who was discharged from a hospital in spite of complaints of chest pain and abnormal test results.Advance directives issued in nationwide campaign
Aging with Dignity, the United Health Foundation, the American Hospital Association, and other national and local organizations will distribute 500,000 advance directives in the coming year in a campaign to help patients and families make important advance decisions about end-of-life care.