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If identity fraud occurs, there are a number of negative repercussions for patient access, but this is also true for patients.
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Some front-end staff, unfortunately, view your department as a revolving door or jumping-off point. However, others choose to make a long, fruitful career for themselves in the field of patient access.
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Career ladders can be an excellent way to improve retention in your patient access department. However, there are some pitfalls to avoid. "Career ladders must be current and relevant to the job," says Holly Hiryak, MNSc, RN, CHAM, director of hospital admissions and access services at University Hospital of Arkansas in Little Rock. "There may be complacency if [employees] are not goal-driven with measurable roles and responsibilities."
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Relying on patient satisfaction survey scores alone to drive your improvement efforts is probably a mistake, says Michael F. Sciarabba, MPH, CHAM, director of patient access services at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago.
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Improving patient satisfaction is "a high priority" for the patient access department at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago, according to Michael F. Sciarabba, MPH, CHAM, the hospital's director of patient access services.
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Like many improvements in patient access processes, increasing up-front collections is not as easy as it sounds. One way to facilitate this is by giving staff incentives.
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If patients report being "very dissatisfied" with the admission process, does that mean they're angry because a registrar was rude and unfriendly? Or was it because they waited hours in the emergency department hallway for an inpatient bed to become available?
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If a satisfaction survey includes any positive feedback about an access employee at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, this does not go unnoticed.
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Whether your biggest "pain point" is a sudden surge in denied claims, terrible compliance with a new payer requirement, or a slowly growing trend of unhappy patients, the solution comes from the same place. Your staff know the answers whether they realize it or not.
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Imagine you're a patient calling to make an appointment. You may wait an extended period of time before the call is answered. Or, someone may answer the call and then put you on hold or route you to another person who cannot help you. Either way, you're not getting that appointment as quickly as you could be, and you're likely to be dissatisfied.
