Hospital Access Management – December 1, 2012
December 1, 2012
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Patient access capturing $12M more in revenue: Convert self-pays to Medicaid
About 15% to 20% of self-pay patients qualify for Medicaid, which represents more than $12 million in gross revenue, at Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News, VA. -
Misunderstandings hurt staff retention
Do some of your employees still think that getting correct information is enough to fulfill their role in patient access, with no regard for excellent service, financial counseling, or knowledge of eligibility systems? -
Hospital sees many changes for access in short time
Patient access staff at Phoenix Children's Hospital have experienced all of these changes in the department in the past few years, reports Irma Becker, manager of patient access: -
Identify problems with role before hiring
I can't work on Saturdays." "I can't stay late on Wednesdays." "I could never do bedside registration because I can't deal with blood or vomit." -
Stop high turnover with ED registration
Turnover in a fast-paced emergency department environment often is higher than in other registration areas, acknowledges Jean Valenta, an admitting manager at St. Anthony's Medical Center in St. Louis. -
Answer questions in your own newsletter
Emergency department registrars at St. Anthony's Medical Center (SAMC) in St. Louis have a new way to get answers to their most pressing questions: a newsletter created just for emergency department patient access staff called Inquiring Minds Want to Know. -
Immediately report these clinical concerns
Your registrars might not have a medical background, but that doesn't mean they can't potentially save a patient's life. -
Registrars help to prevent ID theft
Were suspicious documents provided for identification? Were credit monitoring reports received? Did others report suspicions about the validity of a patient's identify? -
Patients expecting steeper discounts
Patients with large deductibles often feel patient access staff members are unreasonable to ask for the amount upfront, but what about the other side of the coin? -
Do registrars inform patients about options?
Nobody ever told me financial assistance was available." This is a typical comment from patients who are struggling to pay hospital bills, reports Jessica Curtis, JD, director of Boston-based Community Catalyst's Hospital Accountability Project, a national consumer advocacy organization focusing on healthcare issues. -
Go the extra mile to inform patients
Access management services staff at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ, provide each patient with the hospital's charity care and reduced charge charity care notices, but they go even further to be sure patients are informed of their options, says Kathy MacGillivray, MHA, access management services director. -
Here's what patients are telling helpline
While state and federal law require that non-profit hospitals provide individuals with notice of the availability of free care, patients are often unaware, and not all hospitals are compliant or consistent, says Mia Poliquin Pross, Esq., associate director of Consumers for Affordable Health Care (CAHC) in Augusta, ME. -
Underinsured patients will need cost-effective options
It's a "tremendous victory to have something approaching universal access" as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but the resulting increase in underinsured patients will pose ethical challenges for providers, according to Joseph J. Fins, MD, MACP, chief of the Division of Medical Ethics at Weill Cornell Medical College and director of medical ethics at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Center in New York City.