Hospital Access Management – October 1, 2007
October 1, 2007
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New Important Message requirements became opportunity to 'market' services
The newly revised "Important Message From Medicare" is being treated as a public relations opportunity at Stevens Hospital in Edmonds, WA, where the case management department turned added requirements into a way to "sell" its discharge planning services to Medicare patients. -
Employee education big part in initiative's success
Putting the "know" before the "why" for patient access employees was the focus at Stevens Hospital in Edmonds, WA, during implementation of its procedure for distributing the revised "Important Message From Medicare," says Evita Armijo, patient access manager. -
Right charges, resource key to charge capture success
When it comes to the crucial arena of charge capture — making sure that providers are paid at the appropriate level for all services rendered — it's all about "the right charges and the right resource putting the charges in," says Gala Prabhu, a New York City-based senior manager for Accenture. -
New CMS 'error' rule has access implications
A recent announcement by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that it will no longer pay for care required because of hospital error has implications for patient access. -
AZ project targeted ED 'frequent flyers'
Education challenges faced by the organizers of a pilot project in Nogales, AZ, aimed at emergency department (ED) "frequent flyers" involved secondary gains experienced by patients who didn't participate and the cultural phenomenon known as "yes means no." -
Cell phones to the rescue when weather woes hit
Cell phones replaced land-based pagers at Richland Hospital in Richland Center, WI, when the area was hit by severe storms and flooding in late August. -
Majority of hospitals revised emergency plans
About 92% of hospitals surveyed in 2003 and 2004 had revised their emergency response plans since Sept. 11, 2001, according to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.