Hospital Access Management
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Some Who Pay Chargemaster Prices Are Suing
Often, chargemaster prices do not reflect the amount patients actually pay for services rendered. Now, some consumers are using the legal system to get to the bottom of the issue.
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Posted Prices: For Revenue Cycle, Headaches — and Opportunity
Posting charges for hospital services online, as hospitals are now required, sounds like a fairly simple job for IT. The aftermath is what is complicated.
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Obtaining Auths Monthly for Physicians Can Lead to Fewer Claims Denials
At first glance, offering to obtain authorizations on behalf of physicians’ offices sounds like a lot more work. However, a move like this can benefit the department in more ways than one.
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When Rotating Revenue Cycle Staff, Both Employees and Department Win
At small critical access hospitals, patient access employees might also cover rehabilitation, outpatient, scheduling, and the ED, which can spread the staff thin. Some facilities are starting to rotate staff in all four areas. This gives these employees a working knowledge of different department functions, can make the facility more efficient, and perhaps even boost employee morale.
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To Increase Kiosk Use Rates, Do Not Overlook Personal Connection
Kiosks are expensive investments that do not always pay off for hospitals. For patient access, kiosks face two big obstacles: finding the right patient and providing benefit to that patient.
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Abdominal Pain Was Not Appendicitis? Entire ED Visit Could Be Denied
After an extensive evaluation, it turns out that an ED patient with severe abdominal pain does not have appendicitis, only constipation. This is good news medically; financially, it is a different story. The patient may end up fully responsible for the entire cost of the ED visit, deemed “unnecessary” by the insurer. For the revenue cycle, this means lots of complaints, lost revenue, and bad debt.
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Patient Seen Much Sooner With ‘Fast Pass’ Scheduling
Under a new system, when an appointment is canceled or becomes available for other reasons, patients who have been marked on the waiting list are offered the open slot. Five patients are contacted simultaneously by email, text, and the patient portal. The first person to respond is booked.
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React to Volume Surges, or Face Patients’ Wrath on Satisfaction Surveys
Adding some extra seats and creating a few staff "flex" positions are two ways a Delaware healthcare system addressed sudden surges in patient volume.
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Patients Want Advance Warnings About High Out-of-pocket Costs
Patients want to avoid the surprise of unexpectedly expensive bills. For patient access, this means finding better ways to tell patients the cost of their care earlier in the process. Since patient access departments need to do so without adding full-time employees, texts, emails, and patient portals are the likely answers.
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Will Your Department Be Among the First to Text Patients?
For patient access, texting protocol is very much in the early stages. Outdated technology and multiple compliance requirements slow the adoption of texting patients on a wider scale.