Hospital Access Management – October 1, 2016

October 1, 2016

• Can’t Offer Salary Increases? Staff Might Prefer Flexible Scheduling

  Morale was at an all-time low when Stefani Moore, regional manager of patient access at St. Joseph Health in Irvine, CA, took over the department. Self-scheduling was one of the first changes she made.

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• Patients Calling for Price Quotes Won’t Wait Long

  Recently, every Oregon hospital committed to providing cost estimates for scheduled procedures within three business days. Most patients, however, aren’t willing to wait nearly that long.

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• If Healthcare Services Change, So Will the Costs

  Patients need to be informed that if their services change for any reason, then their out-of-pocket costs probably will change too.

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• AIDET Keeps Patients Well-Informed in Registration

  What patient access staff members have to say — about insurance coverage, scheduling, wait times, or out-of-pocket costs — doesn’t always please patients. But sometimes the way the registrar conveys information makes all the difference.

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• Bedside Registration Best for Patient Flow, But the Process Needs Fine-Tuning

  Bedside registration has been in place for more than 20 years in the ED at William Beaumont Hospital Royal Oak (MI). However, the process has changed many times in recent years

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• Hospital Has ‘One-Stop’ Process at Patient’s Bedside

  Patient satisfaction scores soared after bedside registration was implemented at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington, IL.

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• Simple Acts of Kindness From Staff Give Patients a ‘Red Carpet’ Experience

  A registrar in the outpatient rehab clinic at Ochsner Healthcare’s Northshore Region always notes if a particular patient is scheduled, who is someone that she knows has difficulty walking. A few minutes before the patient’s appointment, the registrar leaves her station.

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• These Problems Made Patients Unhappy, Were Fixed

  Here are some problems affecting patient satisfaction in registration areas at Ochsner Healthcare’s Northshore Region in Slidell, LA, that were solved:

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• Staff Concerns Run the Gamut, From Email Capacity to Leaving Department

  Erika Gaudreau, RN, MBA, senior director of patient access at Boston Medical Center, finds that patient satisfaction scores tend to mirror employee satisfaction.

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• Marketplace Enrollees Are in Plans With Lower Deductibles, and Median Is $850

  Consumers enrolled in a 2016 health insurance Marketplace plan have moderate deductibles and access to several covered health services before reaching the deductible, according to a new analysis by CMS. The median individual deductible is $850 for HealthCare.gov Marketplace policies, and consumers’ plans have an average of seven covered services before the deductible.

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