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Before a patient access employee starts work at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, MI, he or she takes a proficiency exam, says Patti Burchett, director of registration and central scheduling. "That is the first level of us being able to assess whether they 'get it' or not, before they even hit the door."
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Holly Hiryak, MNSc, RN, CHAM, director of hospital admissions/access services at the University Hospital of Arkansas in Little Rock, says that while financial counseling is not a new role for her access staff members, the role has become considerably more complex.
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Your patients probably expect that they'll be able to pay their hospital bills online, just as they do with all their other bills. "More and more, people are paying all their bills online," says Kathy Peterson, director of patient financial services at CVPH Medical Center in Plattsburgh, NY. "They don't have to write a check, don't have to get a stamp, and can wait till the final due date to pay. It is instantaneous."
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It happens again and again at hospitals across America. A new case manager joins a department and receives minimal on-the-job training from another case manager who is trying to do his or her own job at the same time.
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At New England Baptist Hospital, in Boston, social workers meet most patients at the pre-admission screening appointment. A case manager follows up with at risk patients after discharge to make sure they have a smooth transition home.
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As part of its efforts to increase patient satisfaction and reduce length of stay, City of Hope reorganized its case management department, assigning case managers by unit and assigning all utilization review activities to a dedicated staff of registered nurses.
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[Editor's note: This month we include the first part of a two-part series on demonstrating the value of case management to your organization. We cover metrics to measure and goals for your department. In next month's issue, we'll continue with examples of benchmarking and case management report cards.]
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Examples of financial outcomes measures include length of stay (LOS), cost per day, cost per case, and third party payer denials.
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Quality outcome metrics, compiled for the entire organization, include readmissions, discharge/disposition delays, delays in service/turnaround time, patient satisfaction, and inappropriate admissions.
