Hospital Management
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Legal Matters: Religious Exemptions for Flu Shots
Healthcare facilities enacting flu shot mandates without some effort to reasonably accommodate healthcare workers claiming religious exemption could be open to a lawsuit.
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New Nurses May Struggle With Errors, Injuries
A newly graduated nurse, or even one more experienced who is going through orientation in a new job, may have a higher risk of errors and accidents.
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Lock Down Drugs to Prevent Diversion
Although it is rarely detected, experts tell us that drug diversion by healthcare workers is a rampant and longstanding problem. Locking and securing crash carts and pharmacy supplies on a given unit is critical to prevent drug theft or some form of tampering and substitution.
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Where’s the Fire? Extend Safe Handling to EMTs
There is a prevailing misconception that firefighters, first responders, and EMTs are young and strong enough to physically lift patients without being injured.
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Ex-OSHA Chief: With Violence Reg Stalled, Hospitals Should Act
In the current political climate, OSHA has no realistic way forward to achieve its goal of issuing a proposed standard to protect healthcare workers from violence, a former OSHA director tells Hospital Employee Health.
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Surprise Bills ‘No Longer Acceptable’ to Savvy Patients
As collections continue to move to the “front end” of the revenue cycle, patient access is expanding pre-service processes, including verifying demographics, informing patients of their benefits and estimated liability, and trying to collect the amount due. This prevents patients from receiving a surprisingly large bill on the date of service.
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Accommodating Walk-ins? Don’t Forget Scheduled Patients
Servicing the growing population of walk-in patients and expanding hours to evenings and weekends “are just the next steps in a patient-first mentality."
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Patients Want Services on Demand
Patient access departments are changing their ways due to rising expectations for on-demand care. Clinics and outpatient service areas at Ochsner Medical Center - North Shore in Slidell, LA, “no longer operate on ‘banker’s hours.'"
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Online Tools Shed Some Light on Out-of-pocket Costs
How much will it cost? It’s a surprisingly complex question, and the ability of patient access employees to answer it is becoming increasingly important. Concurrently, new online price comparison tools are appearing everywhere; yet, those tools carry questionable value.
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Communication, Not Computer Expertise, a Must-have Skill for Patient Access
Not too long ago, some basic computer skills and the ability to collect demographic information were pretty much all that was needed for a patient access employee to succeed. Now highly skilled at upfront collections, financial discussions, and customer service, their role continues to expand both in scope and complexity.