Hospital Access Management – August 1, 2012
August 1, 2012
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Are collections less than they could be? Training is probably the answer
When upfront collections first became a focus several years ago at Portland, OR-based Legacy Health’s six hospitals, “we started with the basics,” says Lindsay Hayward, director of patient access and health information management. -
Struggling collectors may need to try harder
While a small group of registrars at Legacy Health in Portland, OR, were effective collectors, and most were trying their hardest, about one-third weren’t making much of an effort to collect anything at all. -
Top performer to train ED registrars
Since copayments first were collected in Cambridge (MA) Health Alliance’s three emergency departments (EDs) in October 2008, collections have increased 140%, totaling $173,000 in fiscal year 2009 to an expected $416,000 in fiscal year 2012. -
Cover training needs by adding e-learning
Previously, it took some patient access employees over an hour to travel up to 40 miles to a training site for required education at St. Luke’s University Health Network in Allentown, PA. Now, employees can take some of the training right from home or at their current facility. -
Some access info not good for e-learning
When patient access leaders had to select a subject for the first e-learning module developed at St. Luke’s University Health Network in Allentown, PA, they chose computer downtime procedures -
Revamp process for admission notification
If a patient is admitted on a holiday or after normal business hours and registrars are unable to notify the payer until the next business day, the claim could be denied for late notification, warns Jeanette Foulk, director of patient access at Methodist Charlton Medical Center in Dallas. -
Multiple authorizations for single procedures
We are now receiving denials for failing to obtain authorization for the medication in those injections. This is something we had not seen previously,” reports Jeanette Foulk, director of patient access at Methodist Charlton Medical Center in Dallas. -
Revamp process for admission notification
If a patient is admitted on a holiday or after normal business hours and registrars are unable to notify the payer until the next business day, the claim could be denied for late notification, warns Jeanette Foulk, director of patient access at Methodist Charlton Medical Center in Dallas. -
Pinpoint exactly where service problems lie
We listened in on the calls where we had heard a little more impatience in responses and found out the caller was over 70,” says Cynthia Norman-Bey, the hospitals’ director of patient access services and the PBX (private branch exchange) Call Center. -
Bring service up to a higher level
When Cynthia Norman-Bey, director of patient access services and the PBX (private branch exchange) Call Center at Glendale Adventist Medical Center, notices an employee’s customer service skills are lacking, she pairs him or her with a high performer. -
Patient’s coverage inactive? Say this
A patient recently registered at Denver-based Porter Adventist Hospital had just lost his job and employer-sponsored insurance, and he was under the mistaken impression that COBRA coverage was automatic. -
Wrong primary payer? Bad info equals denials
Registrars might learn more information after asking patients with inactive coverage, “While reviewing your insurance, we are getting notification that you have another primary payer. Do you have any other insurance? -
Training challenge with MSP said ‘huge’
Is this patient in a Medicare A bed? Does the patient have Medicare coverage, and if so, what type? Is this patient End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) or disability entitled? What is the patient’s entitlement date? How many lifetime reserve days does this patient have left? Is the patient in their 30-month coordination period for ESRD entitlement? -
MSP accuracy must be at 98%
Patients might tell a registrar that they still have a Medicare Advantage plan when they no longer do, that they do not have supplement A & B coverage when they actually do, or that they have Medicare for disability coverage when it is really for end stage renal disease.