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For a small number of extremely challenging cases, patient access staff at University of California-Los Angeles Medical Center work closely with a multidisciplinary team, including clinical areas.
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Collection of high-dollar accounts is important to patient access for more reasons than the obvious. In addition to having a direct impact on the hospital's bottom line, it boosts staff morale and gives everyone a reason to celebrate. It's a golden opportunity to broadcast success to other areas of the hospital.
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Did you just overhear a patient's wife say that one of your access employees is always friendly? This simple statement gives you a big opportunity.
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Obtaining "non-traditional" contact information, such as cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses, has become a major priority for University of Pittsburg Medical Center (UPMC)'s patient access department. Both of these are now required fields in the system.
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Instead of "sticker shock," which refers to being surprised at the high price tag on an item, many patients these days are experiencing "benefits shock" when they learn how little their insurance actually covers.
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An incorrect address sounds like a very simple matter to correct, but this wrong information can lead to payment for a valid insurance claim being delayed or denied altogether. This is something that no patient access department wants.
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When your most skilled, compassionate, experienced staff person tells you she's leaving, don't let the first words out of your mouth be, "That will be a disaster for you!" or "You're making a huge mistake!"
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The shift from handling verification, eligibility, and collection issues on the front end - before or during registration - is continuing, and this is good news for patient access.
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Because of rising copays and deductibles and underinsurance, patients are getting hit with bigger balances that they don't expect. More and more, patients want to know up front what they will owe.
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Too often, patient access is an area employees come into only to get their foot in the door with a long-term goal of obtaining other medical positions in the hospital, says Vicki Lyons, patient access manager at Baptist Hospital East in Louisville, KY.