Lab's scanning process enables telecommuting
Lab's scanning process enables telecommuting
Entire department home-based
At Carolinas HealthCare System in Charlotte, NC, where telecommuting is a growing trend, one department in the revenue cycle arena is made up entirely of employees who work from home, says Chris Johnson, FHFMA, vice president for patient financial services.
The 10 employees who perform registrations for the reference laboratory began telecommuting about a year ago, Johnson adds, in the wake of some changes in the way the area functions.
"Until a year and a half ago, the reference lab process was entirely paper-based," he notes. Some 1,250 lab requisitions come in each day, in large groups, from physician offices, Johnson says, "and historically, one to two pieces of paper were sent with each account."
In order to process a specimen in a timely manner, he explains, the lab creates a "pre-account" containing four pieces of basic information on each to get an account number, and access employees finish the registration at a later date.
That process changed when CHS contracted with a scanning company, Johnson adds. "The lab still creates the pre-account, but all of the documents that come in with it are scanned, so [access staff] can work from scanned documents instead of being given folders and folders of paper."
The access employees then enter the demographic and insurance information necessary to bill each account, he says.
The original intent of scanning was to reduce paper not to allow people to telecommute but once that piece was in place, Johnson notes, "reference staff started asking why they couldn't work from home."
That dovetailed nicely, he adds, with the fact that "our facilities really needed the space" that would be freed up.
The arrangement has worked out well, Johnson says. "Reference lab staff are very content with the opportunity to work from home, which allows them to be more flexible."
The very specific guidelines that dictate the work hours of other telecommuters are not required for these employees, who are working from documents 90% of the time, he notes. "The exception is when they have to call a physician or patient to get more information and then they don't call before 8:30 a.m. or after 8 p.m."
Another exception, Johnson adds, is the period from midnight to 6 a.m., when the computer system is processing.
At Carolinas HealthCare System in Charlotte, NC, where telecommuting is a growing trend, one department in the revenue cycle arena is made up entirely of employees who work from home, says Chris Johnson, FHFMA, vice president for patient financial services.Subscribe Now for Access
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