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The ambulance was 20 minutes into a 60-minute drive, taking a patient with complications of influenza from a clinic to an urban hospital. No lights or sirens. This was a transport, not an emergency run. Suddenly, the driver of a Chevrolet Lumina crossed the center lane. The ambulance driver veered to the right, trying to avoid impact, but the Chevrolet hit the front left portion of the ambulance.
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Ear plugs aren't protection enough from high levels of noise at work.
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Beware of recordkeeping violations. That's a word to the wise based on recent enforcement activity by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
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Every patient access department has registrars who can be counted on to rise to every occasion, but better pay may lure these valuable employees to other hospital departments or industries. Instead, why not give these employees "an offer they can't refuse" that is, a clear path to career advancement.
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It's hard to imagine a tougher point-of-service collection challenge than collecting from emergency department patients. Patients may expect to pay a small copay, and when they change to inpatient status, may suddenly owe thousands of dollars toward their deductible.
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A landmark study conducted by the Poneman Institute Reference shows that 70% of hospitals say that protecting patient data is not a top priority and 67% have less than two staff members dedicated to protection management.
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Patient access staff are encountering patients under financial stress, and the same is true for employers, notes Brett Taylor, director of payer relations for Nationwide Children's in Columbus, OH.
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When a claim denial occurs, the underlying cause is not necessarily the payer's requirements, says Silva Gramlich, director of registration services in the finance department at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, OH.
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Years ago, when patients came in with Medicare coverage, registration staff were "ecstatic," recalls Robin Teneyck, director of patient access for Sound Shore Health System in New Rochelle, NY.