Conference Preview: Using a Patient Advisory Council to Improve the Customer Experience

Session Title: Using a Patient Advisory Council to Improve the Customer Experience

Presenter: Jennifer Dyrseth

Learning Lab: Series 1

Date/Time: May 4, 10:45 a.m.

About the Learning Lab

Olympic Medical Center may be a smaller hospital compared to others, but we’re mighty. And with that might comes a responsibility to our patients to provide exceptional care and to listen to their feedback. Having avenues in which feedback can be given without retaliation and with the understanding that it will be heard is an important part of getting honest feedback. Our patients have spoken, and if you aren’t already using a Patient & Family Advisory Council (PFAC) to do just that, you should be.

Through cross-departmental collaboration, community involvement and leadership support, a PFAC can help to make improvements throughout your hospital or clinic. But the council members aren’t restricted to just one council. Throughout time, I’ve seen council members move to other committees, like Ethics and Safety. I’ve also seen council members who signed up for one-year terms stay on for years to come. It isn’t just a way to engage staff, it’s also a way to engage patients.

The coordination of a PFAC, from the conception of the idea to its fruition will be outlined in this presentation, with advice on how you can start yours. Patients these days don’t just want a provider who cares, they want an entire care team, and this presentation can help get you on your way. It’s also an excellent opportunity to implement something that’s not only good for the patient, but also good for the organization in terms of marketing, reimbursement and patient satisfaction.

Patient Access is built on the foundation of a patient relationship, and in order to maintain a relationship, it has to be a two-way street. Our patients are truly our customers; the more satisfied and engaged they are, the more satisfied and engaged staff become. Patient and Family Advisory Councils allow us to improve, grow and change, and as everybody in healthcare knows today, we are constantly changing.

Conference Preview: Redesigned Patient Registration Experience to Support Quadruple Aim

Session Title: Redesigned Patient Registration Experience to Support Quadruple Aim

Presenters: Kerry Pratt, CHAM, Patient Access Supervisor at Lakeland Health and Holly Busick, MBA, CPHIMS, CHAM, Director Admitting & Revenue Cycle Technology at Lakeland Health

Learning Lab: Series 4

Date/Time: May 5, 2:30 p.m.

About the Learning Lab

Discover how Lakeland Health redesigned the patient registration experience to shorten patient wait times. Through the implementation of kiosks and an efficient staffing model, Lakeland Health was able to increase the number of patients registered in Patient Access while also decreasing patient wait times. In addition, the changes made allowed for re-allocation of FTEs to develop a Quality Assurance & Training team for Patient Access without increasing FTEs.

The session is important for Patient Access professionals because improving the patient registration experience and strengthening the team engagement is a critical part of many organization’s revenue cycle strategies and supports the drive towards the Quadruple Aim.

Patient Access today is not what it was 10, 15 or 20 years ago. The revenue cycle focus is shifting towards the front end, and complexities in our payer environments require Patient Access teams to be more agile and skillful to provide the best patient experience. The Quadruple Aim is focused on providing better health and better healthcare at a lower cost while providing a better work experience. The implementation of the kiosks and an efficient staffing model have been a great example of the Quadruple Aim in action at Lakeland Health.

Conference Preivew: Investing in your Employees: Strategies that Promote High Retention and Employee Satisfaction

Session Title: Investing in your Employees: Strategies that Promote High Retention and Employee Satisfaction

 
Presenters: Tim Holland MPA, CHAM

Learning Lab: Series 1

Date/Time: May 4, 10:45

About the Learning Lab:

Four years ago, the CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances (CTMF) – Tyler Admission Services team was met with the all-too-familiar challenge of staffing and retaining entry-level admission employees for an extended period of time. Like most front-end departments, we found our compensation model directly competing with local small businesses, large retail chains and the ever-present fast food service industry. Our department hit an all-time low of 63 percent retention and extremely unfavorable employee engagement scores in Fiscal Year 2013.

To combat the negative metrics, a plan was put in place to resolve both retention and engagement issues, simultaneously, by implementing three distinct strategies over the course of a single fiscal year. To start, the plan first addressed associates’ feeling of complacency by creating a career ladder that required specific levels of tenured experience, expertise, and education in order to advance. The second strategy examined our entry-level position’s (titled a Registration Representative I) compensation by examining market value and improving our department incentive package. Finally, our strategies around hiring personnel were closely examined and altered to more align with the goals of the Admission Services Department and the overall Health System.

In this NAHAM conference presentation, we’ll go through the three strategies we implemented that helped us achieve an 84 percent employee retention rate and extremely favorable employee engagement scores only a year later. 

Conference Preview: Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Patients: Cultural Sensitivity and the Healthcare Industry

Session Title: Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Patients: Cultural Sensitivity and the Healthcare Industry

Presenter: Amanda Watson

Learning Lab: Series 5

Date/Time: May 5, 4:00 p.m.

About the Learning Lab

Over the past five to 10 years, the topic of transgender patients has come up frequently as an important issue in healthcare. I frequently hear questions like, “What does transgender mean?” and “I am sure we do not even see these kinds of patients. Why is this even important?” While many people feel that transgender is a new concept, you may be surprised to find that transgender individuals have existed for centuries in many cultures, potentially going back to the earliest of recorded times. The first known reassignment surgery occurred in 1931 under the hands of Magnus Hirschfeld in Berlin.

There appears to be an increasing number of transgender persons presenting in the last several years because of expanded healthcare benefits and transgender visibility. Healthcare providers need to be culturally prepared to handle patients that are transgender or gender non-conforming for many reasons. As a healthcare provider, we must always work to provide a positive healthcare experience to maximize patient satisfaction. 

A recent survey of transgender and gender non-conforming patient shows some alarming statistics. Of the individuals that have attempted to access healthcare in the year prior, 33 percent noted at least one negative experience based on their identity. An additional 23 percent did not seek treatment when they needed to due to fear of mistreatment. The survey results also found that 40 percent have attempted suicide at one point in their life, due to overwhelming depression and lack of support and/or resources. Please note that the suicide attempt rates for the general population is only 4 percent.

Transgender and gender non-confirming people suffer significant healthcare barriers in accessing care. Additionally, in Meaningful User Stage 3 (MU3), the directive requires that the electronic health record (EHR) have the ability to collect sexual orientation and gender identity.  One of the main goals for Healthy People 2020 is to improve access to comprehensive, quality healthcare services, while improving the health, safety, and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals. The American Medical Association House of Delegates stated in a 2017 session that a focus must be to “inform and educate the medical community and the public on the medical spectrum of gender identity.”

Your organization can improve the lives of these patients by making some small changes. The first is ensuring that it has clear policies on non-discrimination. Teach staff to use neutral language until you are familiar with what the patient prefers. Challenge stereotyping of any individuals. Encourage and allow disagreement on issues of gender identity, sexual orientation, and civil rights. In this learning lab, you will learn how to establish a method for your HER to capture Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) data to ensure a positive experience for all transgender and gender non-conforming patients.

Conference Preview: Cultivating Internal Talent– Novant Health Revenue Cycle University

Session Title: Cultivating Internal Talent – Novant Health Revenue Cycle University

Presenter: Danielle Andujar

Learning Lab: Series 4

Date/Time: May 5, 2:30 p.m.

About the Learning Lab

Patient Access employees are a diverse group, composed of different skills, education levels and backgrounds. Many are eager to learn more about their roles, but struggle to find resources beyond on-the-job training. Even though our teams are responsible for hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars of revenue, there is no public or private university that offers courses in Patient Access or revenue cycle. Novant Health was eager to bridge the gap between on-the-job training and formal education. Revenue cycle leadership and our internal revenue cycle education department teamed up to create a university structure that would provide in-depth training.

Novant Health Revenue Cycle University is an educational program devoted to examining broad issues in the revenue cycle. Classes offer a deep understanding of topics integral to the revenue cycle. They introduce each department in the Novant Health revenue cycle, review what makes each department unique and bring together team members from many different departments. Overarching goals of the program are to discuss how all these departments are inter-connected, learn the tools they use to measure success and focus on building connections between each team member and each department. Ultimately we hope to offer content needed to excel in revenue cycle positions. The program uses many different types of technology and learning such as guest speakers, online discussion boards and in-class training. This session will explore how the program was developed, the application and selection process and its structure and content, as well as an opportunity to hear about the experiences from past program participants.

Conference Preview: Virtual Patient Access Workflow Drives Mobility, Productivity at Cleveland Clinic

Session Title: Virtual Patient Access Workflow Drives Mobility, Productivity at Cleveland Clinic

Presenters: Heidi Peris, Revenue Cycle Management, PreAccess Services, Cleveland Clinic

Learning Lab: Series 5

Date/Time: May 5, 4:00 p.m.

About the Learning Lab

Cleveland Clinic is widely known for its culture of innovation and a patient-first mentality. Long-time leaders in patient portals, Cleveland Clinic has added options for patients to engage remotely through online access to scheduling, education materials, personal health records and more. Cleveland Clinic is now applying the same data-driven technology to support a virtual workflow in Patient First support services.

Cleveland Clinic is giving staff tools to engage remotely while performing activities such as pre-registration, scheduling, financial counseling and customer service. By equipping employees with access to the information they need from wherever they are, they now have the option to work from home in a secure, paperless environment.

When transitioning to a remote setting, employees are given access to all software and applications used on-site through a secure data connection. Equipment includes a desktop computer, dual monitors, a phone and a hardware component used to record and integrate phone calls to the patient record.

Remote employees send and receive faxes electronically and capture images from websites rather than printing and scanning. Recordings and captured images are indexed to the patient account and accessible to team members through the department’s communication management platform. Supervisors routinely review these records and listen to recordings to check for quality and accuracy.

Ultimately, the program has provided significant benefits — supporting employee mobility, productivity, and satisfaction — across the organization. The number of employees participating has grown from 20 to 70, and there is currently a push to see if more employees qualify. This has helped alleviate space constraints on-site. The program has also added flexibility for staff members, improving engagement and satisfaction while reducing turnover and absenteeism.

This session will outline the program, outcomes, and lessons learned from Cleveland Clinic’s virtual program. Attendees will learn how their organizations can get started with a similar approach and rank among the innovative healthcare organizations already experiencing the benefits of the work-from-home model.