Hospital Access Management – March 1, 2015
March 1, 2015
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Integrated systems are top priority — Dramatically improve efficiency
It’s one of the biggest time-wasters in patient access: Employees are constantly switching back and forth between many different systems, just to do their jobs.
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Even integrated systems may need specialized revenue cycle software
Integrated systems can solve many dilemmas for patient access by creating work lists for error management and allowing staff to determine eligibility in real time.
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Department sees ‘record high of cash collections’ and fewer accounts receivable with these changes
In Fiscal Year 2014, patient access leaders at Bakersfield, CA-based Kern Medical Center reduced the billed accounts receivable (A/R) from $82,000 to $56,000. “And we didn’t simply write off the A/R,” reports Susan Labow, interim executive director of revenue cycle.
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New task force aims to revamp revenue cycle with a ‘patient-centric’ focus
When payers, providers, revenue cycle vendors, consultants, and financial institutions met to discuss the next generation of revenue cycle management processes and tools, there was a surprising amount of agreement.
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Median wait time for appointments cut from 25 to 13 days by patient access
Patient access leaders at Seattle (WA) Children’s Hospital reduced the median wait times for new patient appointments from 25 days to 13 days.
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New position of data analyst gives information patient access can act on
At Seattle (WA) Children’s Hospital, a quality improvement analyst position was created just for patient access.
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Two-deep cross-training keeps patient access from being short-staffed
Few patient access applicants at Cottage Hospital in Woodsville, NH, have a strong background in registration and insurance. Many have never even worked in the hospital setting. Finding qualified per diem staff is also not easy.
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Cross-training gives these benefits at no cost
Patient access areas at Cottage Hospital in Woodsville, NH, have seen these benefits from cross-training.
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Report on hospital discharge planning tools
Hospital discharge planning tools should incorporate the judgment of clinicians and be administratively feasible, according to findings in a new report released by the American Hospital Association (AHA).
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Were access staff really as rude as caller claims? Recorded calls will give you an answer
Members of the patient access staff at Mission Hospital in Asheville, NC, weren’t too happy to learn that every incoming and outgoing phone call would be automatically recorded. However, their opinion changed dramatically after a few months.
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Thousands of recorded calls provide good QI data
At Sarasota (FL) Memorial Hospital, all inbound and outbound calls are recorded for pre-arrival services, registration areas, and patient financial services.
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Survey of impact from first year of ACA enrollment
The number of Americans reporting they did not receive needed healthcare because of its cost dropped for the first time since 2003, from 80 million in 2012 to 66 million, according to the just-released 2014 Biennial Health Insurance Survey from The Commonwealth Fund in New York City.