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Vicki Lyons, patient access manager at Baptist Hospital East in Louisville, KY, says that she goes to "every extreme" not to have to terminate an employee. That means always taking the time to find out the facts, whether a complaint comes from a patient, family member, or another hospital employee.
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Patient access professionals report being under intense pressure to help the hospital's bottom line.
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Even though patient access has a major impact on the hospital financially, the department often is still shortchanged. This is especially true now, with hospitals looking to cut costs anywhere they can, implementing hiring freezes, and asking departments to do more with less.
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Considering the amount of turnover in the average patient access department, the last thing you probably want is to lose a staff member. However, there are times when a staff person has to be terminated never a pleasant task, but at times, a necessary one.
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To increase collections, you need accurate information at registration.
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Fair or not, patient access managers have historically had lower salaries than patient account managers. But this is something that just might be ripe for change even in today's down economy.
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There is a significant amount of research that demonstrates ED crowding due to boarding is responsible for poor outcomes, says Tom Scaletta, MD, president of Emergency Excellence, a Chicago-based organization that improves patient care and efficiency in the ED while controlling costs. He also is medical director of a high-volume community hospital in a Chicago suburb.
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Although a recent study at the University of Rochester (NY) seems to indicate that telemedicine could eliminate many pediatric ED visits, a pediatric ED physician with extensive experience with telemedicine believes that its applications are not broad enough to have a significant impact on ED overcrowding.
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Telemedicine has long been recognized for improving access to care as well as access to specialist expertise, particularly in rural facilities.
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In its second year, the clinical documentation program at Jupiter (FL) Medical Center was able to increase DRG reimbursement by 75% over the previous year.