Hospital Access Management – April 1, 2021
April 1, 2021
View Issues
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The COVID-19 Vaccine Quarantine: A New Staffing Headache
Patient access department employees have been receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. To avoid staffing shortfalls, leaders have been staggering shifts in case anyone who has received the vaccine experiences side effects that would keep them out of work.
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ED Patients Worry About the Bill, Registrars Can Intervene
People come to the ED sick, injured, or in severe pain. This is not an opportune time to ask someone for a $100 copay — or, worse, inform them they are responsible for the entire bill.
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Top Copay Collectors at Pediatric EDs
By performing their job well, registrars reduce worries for families — and bad debt for the hospital. Some patient access employees share how they do it.
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‘One-Stop Shop’ Self-Registration Is Reality for Patient Access
There is a caveat: Patients are looking for a quick, easy experience. If they do not get it, they will revert to the old, labor-intensive system.
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More Work Needed to Protect Underinsured Patients
Poor communication from insurers, a lack of understanding of what patients are purchasing contribute to problem. Early identification of underinsured patients buys time to find solutions.
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Make Patient Access Evaluations More Transparent
Just as hospitals are becoming more transparent about costs and the quality of clinical care, the same is true for revenue cycle staff performance evaluations. Staff can check on how many registrations they have completed and the accuracy of each. They also can see how the overall department is performing — speed of calls, wait time duration, and how many calls are going to voicemail.
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Data Are the Key to Avoiding Claims Denials
Claims denials have increased by 11% nationally since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an analysis. Almost half of claims denials are caused by front-end revenue cycle issues, including registration/eligibility, authorization, or service not covered. Implementing a process to check eligibility at multiple points throughout the revenue cycle will go a long way in preventing this common denial from occurring.