Take the lead to enhance your Patient Access department... a step-by-step guide on how to run an efficient department

Patient Access managers set the tone for the entire hospital's success. A well-run department will ensure quality customer service, accurate registration and insurance verification, and appropriate financial counseling and recognition of charity care situations.

Now everything you need to ensure your department's success is in one place: ThePatient Access Director's Handbook. This comprehensive, step-by-step guide provides best-practices for everything from hiring the right staff to proper delivery of Medicare's notices of discharge appeal rights.

The Patient Access Director's Handbook also features a number of relevant forms, scripts and worksheets you can use to make your department run more efficiently:

• Sample job descriptions so you can target the most qualified candidates
• Scripts for staff interaction with patients so your team can minimize registration errors and maximize reimbursement potential
• Workflow diagrams to economize the scheduling and coverage of your key areas, especially when staff is low or traffic is high
• Checklists so that important aspects of your department are not missed.

All of the tools are available on the companion CD-ROM so you can download and customize to fit your specific situation.

Whether you are a new Patient Access manager, or simply need to reinforce your current operations, The Patient Access Director's Handbook provides an easy-to-follow blueprint for success.

• Introduction to the revenue cycle
• Scheduling of staff
• Patient identification and tracking
• Insurance verification
• Charge/service anticipation
• Scheduled vs. unscheduled patients
• Recording and tracking patient transfers/bed placement
• Patient observation
• Delivery of discharge notices as required by Medicare
• Financial counseling--including managing deductibles, co-pays and transparency of fees
• Charity care
• Self-assessment
• Medical necessity

ThePatient Access Director's Handbook is brought to you by the Patient Access Resource Center (PARC), a comprehensive online site that allows you to network with your peers; effectively train staff members in such areas as up-front collections and self-pay accounts; and increase communication within your department. Additionally, PARC members save 20% off valuable finance and patient access books, videos, audioconferences, and newsletters. Visit www.accessresourcecenter.com to learn how to become a PARC member and put this exciting online resource to work for your organization.

Marilyn Lipka has over 20 years experience in healthcare financial management. She has held positions including Business Office Manager, Director of Access Services, Administrative Director of Patient Financial Service and Senior Consultant. Lipka is currently a Vice President with Wolfskill and Associates, Inc., a national healthcare revenue cycle consulting firm.