| Patients' personal and financial information is | | | | registration. These employees don't fully |
| quickly becoming a major headache for healthcare | | | | understand the system, or simply want to get |
| revenue cycle administrators. Capturing and | | | | patients registered in the shortest amount of time |
| maintaining the consistency of data is the key to | | | | with as little hassle as possible. |
| ensuring a smooth patient revenue cycle, without | | | | So what can hospital administrators do to reduce |
| payment shortfalls, delays or costly re-work | | | | this problem? |
| throughout the process. | | | | Auditing used to be the usual answer, but that |
| It's no wonder that keeping a consistent view of | | | | can become a game of cat and mouse as |
| the patient is a critical aspect of the entire hospital | | | | hospitals race to catch errors and correct them |
| revenue cycle for healthcare providers, as not | | | | before they get too far. But, it still allows |
| doing so can result in lost revenue. And for | | | | incorrect information to be collected. |
| Healthcare Revenue Cycle technology vendors it | | | | Increasingly, hospital administrators are turning |
| represents both a challenge and a unique | | | | their attention to preemptive error prevention. |
| opportunity to differentiate themselves in a | | | | The latests technological innovations are helping |
| crowded market by tackling a clear and current | | | | healthcare providers do so by allowing them to |
| demand in the market. | | | | use systems that integrate with their Hospital |
| Let's review how most issues in consistency and | | | | Information Systems to provide guidance through |
| validity occur at the very beginning of the | | | | the registration process. |
| revenue cycle, right at the point of patient access. | | | | Such systems guide the hospital employee |
| The registration process is often harried as | | | | through context specific questions to help aid in |
| patients can access hospital services through | | | | the gathering of complete and accurate |
| multiple entry points - like inpatient, outpatient and | | | | information, while checking the validity of data |
| the emergency room - which often doesn't allow | | | | being entered. Questions are dynamically driven |
| for a consistent registration process. | | | | by the information already known about the |
| Registration is decentralized and at times, clinical | | | | patient, the new information entered and the logic |
| personnel, instead of a registrar, will complete the | | | | determined by hospital administrators. Using this |
| process. Because of this, it is extremely difficult | | | | approach administrators ensure that errors are |
| to ensure that all hospital personnel conducting | | | | virtually eliminated before they are entered into |
| registrations follow the best practices | | | | the system. |
| Compounding the problem, hospital information | | | | Even the most inexperienced hospital staff can |
| systems are not designed to help patient-facing | | | | navigate flawlessly through even the most |
| employees through the data capture process at | | | | complex registration scenario, safe in the |
| registration. | | | | knowledge that the registration will be completely |
| These factors result in duplicate patient records, | | | | error-free. The registration process becomes |
| incorrect patient information being captured and | | | | stress-free for those involved, the amount of |
| inaccurate insurance details which hospitals are | | | | re-work necessary decreases and hospitals see |
| then faced with re-working in the back office. If | | | | their revenues increased while their AR days are |
| they cannot correct the false information they | | | | reduced. |
| must foot the bill for delayed payments and loss | | | | With such benefits for the user it is no wonder |
| of revenue due to unpaid services. | | | | that an increasing number of technology vendors |
| Ideally, every person who registers a patient | | | | are starting to add this type of capability into their |
| should be aware of what to do to avoid these | | | | Revenue Cycle and Patient Access products. |
| problems. However, the reality is that achieving a | | | | Healthcare providers are using innovation and |
| level of registration expertise and ensuring that | | | | forward thinking together to reduce |
| best practices are always followed by everyone | | | | ineffectiveness and ensure that dollars are spent |
| in an organization is almost impossible. | | | | providing better healthcare and not wasted in |
| Hospital staff report to different departments | | | | inefficient processes. It is a winning combination |
| where the main job is not always patient | | | | for patients, hospitals and vendors. |