and why you should care...  Unexpected hospital fees are a shock to the patient community; often resulting in frustration with the provider. Communication with the patient before the encounter is paramount to the patient’s satisfaction as well as the facility’s fiscal success. Many providers work tirelessly to improve the front end of their revenue cycle only to see it slip into the old ways as employee turnover and time constraints in the registration area return registration staff back to the path of least resistance. Once the most overlooked position in the hospital, registration is now the key to a successful revenue cycle. Almost all successful Pre-Registration processes possess the same 5 key attributes:
Regardless of the procedure, the likelihood of contacting a patient regarding financial matters greatly diminishes after they have left the facility. Focusing on the 5 areas above helps to increase overall revenue cycle success. Many facilities are turning to companies who specialize in Pre-Registration. These companies utilize state of the art dialers, and best practice electronic communication to increase efficiency in the registration process. Companies with specially trained personnel who are compensated and turnover rates are lower. When broken down, most facilities are surprised at their cost to register a patient. MedCo utilizes the following attributes to provide world class registration: 1.Communication with the Patient Beforehand Several studies show that separating the financial encounter from the clinical encounter results in higher patient satisfaction. To do so… you have to get them on the phone first. Facilities employing manual outbound call methods either fail to reach the patient before the scheduled encounter or employ legions of registration staff that presents both financial and management strains in themselves. By failing to reach the patient, many facilities “recreate” the registration information using patient demographics from a recent visit. Failing to speak with the patient beforehand kicks the problem down the road to the onsite registration team. Doing so increases wait times for both patients and clinicians, and impacts the scheduled times for the entire day. Utilizing automated dialers, live Quality Assurance online registration portals, email, and text capabilities are a must to be successful in today’s Pre-Registration world. MedCo utilizes both technology and technique to reach 95 to 100 percent of the next day’s scheduled procedures before the encounter. 2. Ensuring Correct Patient Information & DemographicsG.I.G.O. Garbage In Garbage Out. Incorrect demographics result in a fast track to lost revenue and increased cost to collect. In short, if you don’t have the simplest information like address and phone number, how can you contact them later about their financial obligation? Return mail and skip trace costs can be decreased tremendously by confirming with the patient. Incorrect insurance information result in denials that take time and manpower to correct…not to mention timely filing considerations. MedCo confirms 100% of demographics each time a patient is registered over the phone ensuring correct information. Any corrections are made in the client’s host system.
1 Comment
|
