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At the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange in Carson City, NV, workers have been counting down the days until Oct. 1 on an office corkboard, according to a report in Kaiser Health News.1 Now it is only days to the deadline for opening the online marketplaces that are a linchpin of the federal health law known as Obamacare, the report said.
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Like many patient access leaders, Linaka Kain, DE, a disability examiner and Medicaid specialist at Trinity Regional Health System Rock Island, IL, is expecting a large influx of newly eligible patients coming on to the Medicaid program as a result of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2014.
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At times, patients face lengthy wait times due to missing or invalid orders in registration areas. These long waits decrease satisfaction scores for patient access. Educate provider offices on situations in which patients were inconvenienced. Have physicians use online scheduling, which requires ICD9 and diagnosis codes. Scan orders so they can be located online.
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Less than 30% of patient access areas use patient liability estimator software, but this software is necessary to ensure patient satisfaction with growing numbers of underinsured and self-pay patients. Decide which tool will work best with your patient accounting or patient management system. Incorporate ability to pay functions and a presumptive charity care screen. Develop good financial policies for pre-registration and patient advocacy.
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In the 1990s, the focus was largely on the performance of the back end of the revenue cycle. This has largely paid off, and hospital leaders have turned to the front end for further improvements, according to Ronnie Dail, managing director of Huron Healthcare in Chicago. Dail says patient access requires an increasingly integrated approach for scheduling of appointments, sharing information with clinicians, and validating coverage. Here are three processes Dail says are top priorities for patient access
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Registrars have become much more comfortable calling clinicians with questions due to face-to-face meetings that take place at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City. Bed assignment meetings begin with introductions. Registrars are seated next to triage nurses. Nurses obtain demographic information from patients presenting by ambulance.
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Patient access leaders added mobile cell phone chargers to registration areas at Virginia Mason Medical Center after patients requested these chargers to decrease anxiety. Staff members don't have to field constant requests from patients for cell phone chargers. Patient access employees appreciate being able to use the chargers. Patient responses have been positive.
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Duplicate registrations decreased from 36 a month to seven, due to new processes at Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. To decrease these errors, registrars should do the following: Be able to view the patient's address along with name, date of birth, and social security number. Pay close attention to details. Ask the right questions.
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With healthcare reform efforts encouraging hospitals to align with physicians more closely, questions are arising about how to do that without running afoul of rules prohibiting kickbacks and collusion.
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News: A 52-year-old patient underwent bariatric surgery at the defendant hospital. Prior to surgery, the patients weight exceeded 500 pounds.
