The Complete Patient Access Handbook

Marsha L. Sopiecha
Victoria L. Ludwig, MS 

Patient access staff are often the first hospital staff members who interact with patients. These staff must possess the customer service skills to make patients feel welcome and understand the role they play in ensuring the integrity of patient data they collect. Unfortunately, high turnover in this department can make it difficult for managers and directors to get patient access operating successfully and efficiently.

The Complete Patient Access Handbook is a comprehensive, all-in-one guide to effectively operating a patient access department. This resource outlines specific tactics and strategies for developing a patient access staff training program, including best practices for mentoring and incentivizing patient access staff, as well as tips for holding staff meetings and ensuring employee satisfaction. The book takes an in-depth look at performance evaluations, attendance, and accountability.

This resource explores the role patient access plays in denials, data integrity, discharges, and more. Moreover, readers will gain a deep understanding of the impact this department has on the revenue cycle. Through effective training, you’ll give your patient access staff the tools they need to succeed in their role—and the whole facility will benefit.

This comprehensive resource not only helps revenue cycle and patient access leadership address staffing challenges, but also addresses the role of patient access in insurance eligibility, denials, data integrity, bed management and discharges, performance indicators, quality, and patient notices.

About the Author:

Marsha L. Sopiecha is a revenue cycle consultant and an instructor for a patient access specialist program. She is also an active member of the National Association of Healthcare Access Management. She has more than 25 years of experience in the healthcare field as a patient access representative, educational coordinator/supervisor of patient access, and revenue cycle consultant. She has created and presented educational classes for several healthcare facilities. She is the author of a number of educational books, policies, and procedures for patient access departments.

Reviewer
Victoria L. Ludwig, MS, has worked in education since 1993. She received her Bachelor of Science in Education cum laude (1993) and her Master of Science in Pupil Services magna cum laude (2001) from the University of Akron. She was a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society, and currently serves on building and district leadership teams in her school district of employment. In addition, Ludwig has facilitated team meetings and discussions for educators, and has experience training staff on various policies and procedures in the field of education. 

Published: December 2017

Page count: 174
Dimensions: 8.5” X 11”
ISBN: 978-1-68308-660-4

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Role of the Patient Access Director in the Contemporary Revenue Cycle
Chapter 2: Critical Considerations in Pre-Access Processing
Chapter 3: Patient Arrival Processing and Other Access Activities
Chapter 4: Patient Access Financial Activities
Chapter 5: Patient Access Compliance Activities
Chapter 6: Other Patient Access Responsibilities
Chapter 7: Access Department Organization
Chapter 8: Customer Service
Chapter 9: Staff Training and Development
Chapter 10: Using a Gap Analysis to Plan Future Improvements
Chapter 11: Denials and Loss of Revenue
Chapter 12: Eligibility