Hospital Access Management
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Registrars call police about patient’s suspicious ID
Recently, a patient was arrested after clinic staff at Houston, TX-based Memorial Hermann Hospital called local law enforcement because she allegedly presented with a suspicious driver’s license. The incident led to protests by immigration rights groups and triggered an investigation by the Department of Health & Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights.
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Avoid EMTALA woes: Keep registration in the emergency department ‘clear and simple’
To comply with the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, patient access leaders at Wall Township, NJ-based Meridian Health keep the emergency department registration process “clear and simple,” says access services trainer Donna J. Roettger, CHAA.
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ED registration practices led to EMTALA problems
Here are some practices in emergency department registration areas that Gina Greenwood, JD, an attorney at Atlanta-based Baker Donelson, has seen come up in alleged violations of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act:
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Did registrar warn patient about long ED wait time? It could violate EMTALA
“You are welcome to wait, but it may take the doctor several hours to get to you. We won’t be nearly this busy in the morning!”
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Lessons learned from unscheduled downtime — Data inaccessible for up to 10 days
During Hurricane Katrina, all organizations in the area had “tremendous challenges” with registration, says Stacy Calvaruso, CHAM, system director of patient access for LCMC Health in New Orleans.
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Cyberattack Would be a Disaster for Access
What if a cyberattack forces registrars to revert to paper processes for days?
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Shorter surgery check-in saves $11,500 plus a minute per case
Patient access employees, supervisors, and managers at Seattle Children’s Hospital are constantly on the lookout for work that is no longer useful.
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Small changes add up to big benefits for access
Whenever Sarah Thomas, senior director of access systems at Seattle Children’s Hospital, hears a registrar sigh in frustration, she makes a beeline to that employee and asks what’s wrong.
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Emergency department registrars work with clinicians to identify “superusers”
Do you assume that “superusers” of the emergency department, or individuals who present very frequently with the same vague complaints, are just a nuisance?
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Can members of patient access department answer toughest questions about coverage?
Many overwhelmed, confused patients turn to patient access employees to help them make decisions about healthcare coverage and even to obtain coverage. A recent Health Affairs policy brief discusses some difficult questions that often come up.