Hospitals have faced numerous challenges due to the pandemic. Staffing shortages, denials, and cash flow issues are among the top concerns. Hospitals have looked at their data and implemented various solutions to overcome these challenges. This article explores some of the strategies hospitals are using.
Solutions Implemented by Hospitals during the Pandemic
1. Retructuring Departments and Implemeting Digital Front Doors
Hospitals have restructured departments and implemented digital front doors to overcome staffing shortages, maximize current tools and collect more cash. Staffing shortages in Sue Plank's department were addressed by putting tools in place to retain employees and giving them meaningful work. Jennifer shared her experience with automating workflows to ensure data accuracy, implementing huddles, job shadowing, and using a QA tool to improve their scores. Accountability and leadership are vital to prevent denials at the front door and avoid rework at the back.
2. Maximizing Current Tools and Cross-Training Opportunities
Using technology to streamline processes, hospitals are utilizing their existing tools to collect more cash. They provide cross-training opportunities to their employees, which enable them to learn new skills, resulting in better-quality service delivery.
3. Using Quality Assurance (QA) Work Queue
Quality assurance is essential to ensure the quality of the submitted data. Hospitals use a QA work queue to guarantee the quality of the patients' information entered into the system.
4. Collecting Patient Payments and Estimating Costs
Hospitals are collecting patient payments at pre-registration and using payment estimators with an easy one-click process for cash, checks, and credit cards. Accurate CPT codes are essential for effective estimation and can be sent through an HL7 feed. The hospitals are working on implementing this to help increase cash collections.
Digital Patient Engagement
Jennifer Williams and Sue Plank discussed the intersection between patient estimation and payment, and digital patient engagement. They use the digital front door, such as kiosks in their lobbies and sending out reminders, to engage patients and reduce their wait times. Addressing questions such as cost and financial assistance can help increase digital front door usage.
Note: This is an AI generated transcript, not edited by a staff writer and is solely intended for educational purposes. If you have any questions/concerns, reach out to events@beckershealthcare.com
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