Hospital Access Management – April 1, 2019
April 1, 2019
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‘What We Do Matters to People’: The Importance of Making Positive Impressions
Every patient access leader wants impressive satisfaction scores to share with hospital leadership. But unlike clinical areas, they face a daunting obstacle: Most people do not quite comprehend the patient access role. Some departments have taken proactive steps to make staff stand out and to educate patients.
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Are Patients Happy? If Not, It Might Be Outside Your Control
Many issues come into play with patient satisfaction. Plenty of these are partly, if not totally, linked to other departments. Wait times, clinical care, cleanliness, and billing processes are just a few.
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Successful Collection and a Good Patient Experience? It Is Possible
For virtually every hospital, the patient experience is a top priority. The same is true for point-of-service collections. For patient access, this presents quite a conundrum. The question becomes: How can registrars keep patients smiling while asking for money — sometimes, a great deal of money?
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Doing More With Less Staff? Cross-Training Is Not Enough
All too often, cross-training is a skill set only called on in times of need. One possible solution is to create cross-functioning roles that are used all the time.
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Retention in Patient Access: The Struggle Is Real
Leaders devise ways to retain staff who are looking to move beyond patient access.
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‘I Can’t Afford That’ Payment Plans Are New Option
Back in the days when patients did not owe much more than a $20 copay, offering a payment plan would seem more an attempt at humor than a necessary solution. But with $5,000 deductibles the new norm, it is a different story.
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Avoid Issues With ABNs: Education Is the Answer
A patient is waiting for a clinical service, probably already with some degree of anxiety. At this point, few things are less welcome than the dreaded Advance Beneficiary Notice.
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Compassion, Empathy Keys to Complaint-Free, High-Dollar Conversations
What is the most difficult collection conversation? Whenever the patient has not been made aware of what he or she will owe.