Front End Ambassadors: The Unsung Heroes
(Editor's Note: Sou Chon Young, a senior consultant at Hayes Management Consulting specializing in healthcare revenue cycle management, wrote this blog.)
As a healthcare consultant, I have observed the registration process at countless facilities. Recently, I found myself sitting on the other side of the desk as I waited in the patient registration area with my wife.
The fact that my wife was in considerable pain did not seem to matter to the woman sitting behind the check-in desk. She just asked for our name and told us to have a seat. I was hoping for more compassion, given my wife's condition, but we sat quietly with the others and waited to be called.
After what seemed to be forever, a registration staff member asked us to follow him to his work area, which was about the size of a small closet, and politely asked us to take a seat. He proceeded to ask the typical questions.
I was impressed by the speed and fluidity with which he was moving through the different screens to get my wife registered. As he was collecting our information, I also could see on his dual screen setup that he was verifying our insurance, and he was able to throw in a few jokes. His professionalism, customer service and calming nature were comforting to me.
After leaving, I could not help but realize how important a role he played and how, typically, front-end staff are usually the lowest paid and have high turnover rates. Not only was he responsible for accurately capturing the required and necessary information for registration, but he was also required to validate our insurance coverage. He had a direct impact on patient satisfaction and the facility's revenue cycle.
As the healthcare landscape continues to change and new insurance products hit the market, your front-end staff (registration, financial counselor) will be first to encounter patients. They will make a first impression that will affect patient satisfaction and your competitive advantage.
They will enter the information needed to process claims, affecting your organization's revenue. Front-end staff also should be collecting co-pays up front to reduce collections risk as more financial responsibility shifts to patients. A report by Celent, a research and consulting firm, estimated that by 2012, patient responsibilities (patient receivables) will constitute 30 percent of providers' total revenues, an increase from 12 percent of revenues in 2007.
To leverage this important role, front-end staff training is crucial. These staff members should be well-versed in the multitude of products and how they affect the patient's financial responsibility, including:
High-Deductible Health Plans (HDHP)
Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRA)
Health Savings Accounts (HSA)
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
In addition, your front-end staff may need to educate the patient about which account(s) to draw from prior to paying out-of-pocket and what limitations each account may have.
Is your organization providing training that is frequent enough to keep up with all of the changes and new responsibilities? Since customer service is a critical aspect of patient satisfaction, is your organization also focusing on customer service training? It can make the difference between your organization and that comparable organization a few miles away when the patient needs services the next time.
Lastly, to reduce turnover and increase your investment in staff training, make sure that you are paying your front-end staff a competitive salary as they continue to take on more responsibility. Revenue cycle improvement starts at the front-end. So does patient satisfaction. Take a moment to appreciate your front-end ambassadors.