ABSTRACT
SUMMARY: Doing more with less has been a business mantra for decades. Healthcare leaders have implemented flex scheduling and job sharing, streamlined workflows, committed to process improvement techniques such as Lean, hired retirees, gained efficiencies from remote work ... and the list goes on. Each tactic has yielded productivity improvements, yet the need to do more with less continues. Postpandemic challenges include staff recruitment and retention, labor inflation, and dwindling margins, all of which must be addressed while maintaining corporate cultures. The journey with bots described here started in this dynamic environment, and the work has not been single-threaded. The organization featured here-an integrated delivery network-has digital front-door and back-end robotic process automation (RPA) projects underway. The digital front-door initiative supports patient self-registration and automates authorizations and insurance verification processes. The back-end patient financial services RPA project replaces and enhances existing technology. Revenue cycle as a multidepartment function is leadership's poster child for RPA, and the revenue cycle team is tasked to demonstrate the value of the technology. This article covers the initial steps and lessons learned in the process.
Subject(s)
Commerce , Health Facilities , Child , Humans , Organizational Culture , Personnel Selection , TechnologyABSTRACT
Release of information will get easier as health IT advances. But for now, it can be a labor-intensive effort requiring more expenses than many outside the process may realize.
Subject(s)
Hospital Information Systems , Information Dissemination , Hospital Information Systems/economicsABSTRACT
The HIPAA privacy rule allows providers to charge for providing copies of medical records to patients and their representatives. Providers need to know which activities in the retrieval and handling of such information can be included in the medical record copy charges. State-mandated fees for copies vary and may be preempted by HIPAA, requiring careful review by providers. Healthcare organizations that use a copy service may need to determine whether bringing the activity in house would be more cost-effective under HIPAA.
Subject(s)
Copying Processes/economics , Fees and Charges/legislation & jurisprudence , Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act , Medical Records/economics , Patient Access to Records/economics , Negotiating , United StatesSubject(s)
Copying Processes/economics , Forms and Records Control/economics , Medical Records Department, Hospital/economics , Patient Access to Records/economics , Budgets , Forms and Records Control/legislation & jurisprudence , Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act , Hospital Costs , Medical Records Department, Hospital/legislation & jurisprudence , Patient Access to Records/legislation & jurisprudence , United StatesABSTRACT
Staring down another backlog in your HIM department? Use routine data collection activities to strengthen your case for additional staff, increased budget dollars, or an incentive program.
