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When staff at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) began working on reducing ventilator-associated pneumonia rates, they armed themselves with more than a bundle.
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North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System based in Great Neck, NY, was awarded with the National Quality Forum's 2010 National Quality Healthcare Award.
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When Henrico Doctor's Hospital in Richmond, VA, launched a hospitalwide initiative to improve patient throughput, the team was able to shave 2.5 hours off the average discharge time and decrease the average length of stay on the medical unit from almost 10 days to five days in the first six months of the project.
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Several months ago, the two EDs of Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene, OR, began posting their waiting times on their home page (www.peacehealth.org/shmc).
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Often, problems that are a continual thorn in the side for patient access simply cannot be solved without the help of other departments. Likewise, you can spread no small amount of goodwill by helping others with their own troublesome "pain points." Here are some ways to improve cross-departmental relationships:
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Rushing by a registration area on your way to a meeting with a hospital administrator, you think you hear an edgy tone in an access employee's voice while she's answering a patient's question. Do you stop to investigate further, or do you continue on your way?
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What's the most common complaint that Amy M. Kirkland, CHAA, patient access team leader for the emergency department at Palmetto Health Richland in Columbia, SC, hears from patients? Hands down, it involves frustration over long wait times.
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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has published an interim final rule incorporating provisions of the Health Information Technology for Clinical and Economic Health (HITECH) Act related to HIPAA violations that significantly increase the penalties it can levee against employers and health care providers.
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Regardless of the reason, an upset, disgruntled patient is dangerous for your department.
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To avoid making a bad situation worse, your staff should be prepared to smooth things over before an angry patient walks away. This sounds difficult, but can be surprisingly simple.
