Hospital Access Management articles from October 2002

Hospital Access Management archives from October 2002

Hotel-like service philosophy results in quality; turns patients into guests: Colorado hospital rolls out the red carpet and gets results.
October 1, 2002... By treating patients as guests and employees as partners, hospitals can create a culture of patient-centered care that resonates throughout the organization, says Becky Jessen, MEd, vice president of marketing at Community Hospital in Grand...

Audio conference clarifies final EMTALA regulations.
October 1, 2002... The final version of the recently proposed changes to the Emergency Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) is expected to become effective on Oct. 1. Issues in the final regulations could include changes to physician on-call requirements, "comes to...

Guest services director same as hospital concierge: CEO wanted `a positive outreach'.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... The CEO of Community Hospital in Grand Junction, CO, "always felt it was a wonderful idea to have one person responsible for helping patient guests before, during, and after their stay," says Erica Eng, patient advocate and director of guest...

Hospital directories, clergy areas of concern for access: privacy rule may be customer-service issue.
October 1, 2002... As access managers breathe a sigh of relief at the lifting of the written-consent requirement in the final Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy rule, many are beginning to focus on the changes they will need to...

Providers rework privacy plans for final HIPAA rule: most `excited' to have process complete.(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act )
October 1, 2002... Around half of the privacy policies Houston-based consulting firm Healthlink Inc. had helped health care providers develop will have to be modified as a result of changes in the final Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)...

AMs told to `get involved' with smallpox vaccination: should access workers be immunized?(access managers)
October 1, 2002... As hospitals and health systems begin to put together their bioterrorism response plans, access managers should take an active role, asking, "How does this apply to my department and what should I do?" "All of us need to be leaders in our...

Bioterrorism prep checklist from AHRQ.(Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Hospitals can download a survey on the web site of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) that can be used as a checklist for assessing their capacity to handle potential victims of bioterrorist attacks or for evaluating...

Medicare appeal process is untapped opportunity: there's a good chance to overturn, expert says. (Guest Column).
October 1, 2002... When a Medicare intermediary or a carrier denies payment for a claim, a provider may appeal the denial. The chance of overturning a wrongful denial in the appeal process is high, yet providers are apparently not taking advantage of the appeal...

Discharge planning is not optional, expert cautions: here are laws defining the process.
October 1, 2002... Discharge planning is the law. As an access manager integrally involved in the discharge process, you knew that, right? Or maybe not. Giving a presentation at a national meeting in Las Vegas recently on the rules and realities of discharge...

CMS proposes process for appealing denials.(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed a rule that would establish a process for beneficiaries to appeal local or national Medicare coverage determinations. Under the proposal, an administrative law judge (ALJ)...

CMS reminds providers to file HIPAA extension.(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Fewer than 3% of entities covered under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) have filed for an extension to the Transaction and Code Sets Standards compliance deadline of Oct. 16, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid...

Prompt-pay law added in Ohio.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... The state of Ohio has added a new bill to the nation's growing number of laws aimed at making sure medical insurers reimburse hospitals in a timely manner. A new state Senate bill gives the Ohio Department of Insurance additional authority...

Uncompensated care up 60% in Wisconsin.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Wisconsin hospitals have experienced a 60% increase in uncompensated care since 1996, and nearly a quarter of them lost money on patient care in 2001, according to the Wisconsin Health and Hospital Association (WHA). Uncompensated care...

Survey gives salaries for IT professionals.(information technology)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Hospital information technology (IT) professionals earned an average salary of $88,925 in 2001, according to the latest annual compensation survey by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). Some 61% of the 1,581...