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The results of a survey of registration staff at University Orthopaedic Center, part of Salt Lake City-based University of Utah Health Care, were a little surprising to managers.
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Do you overhear registrars making remarks such as "We were slammed this morning!" or "We don't have enough staff today?" You'll need to re-evaluate your staffing levels to be sure the department is providing optimal coverage and customer service, says Kathleen Bowles, LSW, patient access supervisor at The Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus.
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Suspected 'red flags' must be handled differently in the emergency department than other registration sites, according to Joyce L. Predmore, associate director of patient access services at Ohio State's University Hospital East in Columbus.
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If a worried and anxious patient or family member is kept waiting, it might help to convey the underlying reasons for delays in registration, treatment, or room placement, says Diane Manuel, director of patient access for admissions and the emergency department at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston Salem, NC.
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Some emergency department (ED) patients are destitute, drug-seeking, or have nowhere else to obtain care, and they might pass themselves off as others to obtain insurance coverage, says Marsha Kedigh, RN, MSM, director of admitting, emergency department registration, discharge station, and insurance management at Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville.
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If you tell patients they owe their entire deductible of $2,000 for an inpatient procedure, and they know that $1,700 of the deductible already was met, your credibility and competence are suddenly in question.
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Since beginning a "financial advocacy initiative," Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago has seen nearly a 160% increase in its point-of-service (POS) collections.
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A 56-year-old man with complaints of impaired balance and light headedness presented to his local hospital. A resident and attending radiologist interpreted the man's CT scan and read the scan to show old lesions. A physician assistant at the hospital diagnosed the man with vertigo and discharged him with medication. As the symptoms became more severe, the man approached his primary care physician, who completed a more thorough workup.
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When it comes to measuring patient safety, hospitals tend to receive good scores for teamwork and education, but there still is considerable room for improvement with handoffs and other concerns.
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When helping to vet a proposed joint venture, watch for these red flags that government regulators have said will receive their attention, suggests Brandy L. Rea, JD, an attorney with the law firm of Lathrop & Gage in Overland Park, KS:
