Patient Service Center Adds Employees, Increases Patient Satisfaction
As part of the Ambulatory Improvement Project, the Patient Service Center is adding employees over the next year to manage increased volume and maintain patient satisfaction.
The added employees, in addition to the 45 representatives staffing the center, contact patients for demographic data and insurance companies for prior authorization and guarantee payment for the patient’s scheduled appointment or procedure. This translates to both cost savings for the hospital and increased patient satisfaction.
“Improving our data collection and calling insurance companies before a patient’s appointment has proven successful in reducing denial loss from third party insurance companies,” Anthony Autori, executive director for Patient Business Systems, said. “We’ve reduced the amount of claims denied for payment because of poor data and unauthorized services.”
The Patient Service Center aims to centralize preregistration among the hospital’s outpatient sites. “Our goal is to have all the services that require prior authorization or demographic data improvement to be processed through the center,” Michelle Gabriel, administrator of the Patient Service Center, said. “This will streamline the process and make it consistent across practices.”
The Patient Service Center handles about 60 percent of the volume that it could, according to Autori. Some services, such as ED visits and OB visits, do not require prior authorization from an insurance company and do not need pre-screening performed by the center.
Each representative answers at least 55 calls per eight-hour shift to handle managed care referrals and preregistration. The center also facilitates prior authorization for Radiology services, such as MRI and CT scan.
The high quality of customer service is paying off. One recently satisfied customer left the following message for her representative at the Patient Service Center: “You have diligently been working with my insurance company as my advocate for quite some time. I feel you have taken your work to another level by advocating for me. Without your assistance, I do not feel as though I would have had my services covered. I thank you as a person and for the work that you do.”