Problems with the pre-admission call center - Case Study Example

Problems with Pre-admission Call Centre Introduction Pre-admission Call Centre The pre-admission procedure is an extremely crucial process in any infirmary. It is a crucial procedure because it provides the concerned doctor the chance to inform the infirmary of a patient’s surgery or appointment. It notifies of the patient’s admission date and the length of stay in the hospital. It is a prior encounter with a physician who elucidates the entire process, addresses any queries with regard to the treatment. It ensures that the ailing individual approves of his or her treatment at the infirmary. In this procedure, it is vital to confirm any individual details, Medicare or health coverage information, entitlement information and any physician’s information provided. The pre-admission call office has professionals, who have the responsibility to contact patients prior to admission to assess their medical accounts, confer their discharge needs, and respond to any queries that the ailing individuals might have, as well as offer directions with regard to the day of admittance to the infirmary. The nurse at the centre also ensures that the patient gets an appropriate appointment time for his or her respective medical procedure. In this same process, the patient might be required to get blood testing, x-rays, sessions with a physiotherapist and a dialogue with regard to discharge time. The pre-admission phase creates a chance for medical personnel to relate with the patients. This is usually to reveal the caring aspect of the infirmary via personalized, patient centric treatment. It provides an opportune time to foster ailing individual’s health literacy and their comprehension of care procedures so as to avert any needless readmissions (Forbes, p.1). A vital requirement to averting these readmissions is medical resolutions. This is where accessible and potential contra-intervening medical therapies are established and remediated. Persons with the least health literacy, low agreement profiles, and intricate regimens are most in danger. The doctor’s failure to recognize potential medication problems early is a patient security subject that can rapidly corrode a patient’s assurance in the infirmary. This can put patient in jeopardy. In addition, the pre-admission procedure assists reveal risks that can influence treatment and describe post release follow up treatments. This, consequently, enhances patient gratification issue. This process also assists in enhancing post discharge personal management. This is mainly to thwart expenses and perils related to needless re-admissions. The pre-admission process makes certain that all patients’ needs have been established. It also ensures that a patient comprehends everything that is going to occur and the related peril. It is a significant procedure since the patient’s as well as the infirmary’s resources is planned properly. An inclusive process assists in developing a positive initial impression on the client. The pre-admission procedure ensures efficient resource utilization and advances patient gratification and security. Fostering post release process all through the pre-admission procedure can make sure that a patient has an affirmative last impression. This also ensures that the patient has adequate information required for a secure recuperation. The significant objective of the pre-admission procedure is education of patients. This is prior to treatment, as well as post discharge supervision. This process also aids in developing a checklist of requirements for varied patients. This helps in averting issues that emerge from incoherent additions or deletions in drug utilization. It also assists in directing the patient to the correct healthcare physiotherapist. It also ensures establishment of accountability as well as developing patients’ alerts utilizing a transitional treatment command office. Furthermore, it assists in the scheduling of treatment dates as well as making sure post discharge best procedures are designed in advance. The pre-admission phase also provides an opportune time to record and confer discharge care procedures, for instance, home care, transit options, as well as drug therapy problems that can be addressed all through post discharge scheduling (Forbes, p.2) Case Study In addressing the quandaries with pre-admission call offices, the case study is the South Street Hospital (SSH) which is part of the infirmaries in the Great West Infirmary System. This is a patient-centric infirmary that enjoys high patient gratification scores, as well as efficient financial administration. In the case study, one of Dr. Canton’s clients contacts him the day prior to his surgery and reports that he will not appear for surgery. The patient asserts a female from the infirmary contacted him and wanted him bring cash to the admitting center. The patient further asserts that the female demanded he bring money or a credit card in order to pay his copayment. Even, though, the doctor apologizes to his patient and attempts to convince him to appear for treatment, the patient insists that he cannot go an infirmary that makes such demands (Buchbinder, p. 57). This case reveals the varied quandaries facing pre-admission offices. The fact that SSH is a charity hospital, the demands for copayments might result in loss of clients. This taints the work for the pre-admission offices and can make the patients lose confidence in the organization. Consequently, just like Dr. Canton’s patient, the patient might resort to seeking medication elsewhere. The nasty, anonymous call by a female from SSH also taints the organization’s reputation, which as delineated earlier, is excellent and ensures optimal gratification of customers. This depicts how crucial the personnel in pre-admission office are in fostering and selling the image of any infirmary. An excellent reputation ensures regular streaming in of clients and; consequently, attraction of resources. The female was also discourteous to the patient, and this can be a significant hindrance to other patients coming into the infirmary. The fact the patient had Medicare and health coverage exempts him from making any disbursements to anyone in the infirmary. The demand for cash for admittance into the infirmary portrays that there is some fraud business happening in the organization. This is another reason for patients to lose assurance in the hospital that whatever they were told prior to admittance is correct or incorrect. It is extremely difficult to convince an individual that the infirmary offers the best medical care since their initial impression is already tainted from their cruel encounter with the pre-admission personnel. This can be a significant deterrent in selling the organization’s services, as well as products. It can also injure the organization’s operations and future prospects (Buchbinder, p.60). The case where a staff member (Dr. Gasser) is asked to bring cash during admittance depicts a significant problem with the management. The way it is presented is like this quandary has been there for a while. This is an enormous problem with the system since this is not an initial occurrence of the same. This explains why the management seems reluctant in addressing the issue. Nonetheless, this seems not to be the case, since even when the issue is reported to the headquarters nothing is done. This issue caused by personnel in the pre-admission offices can cost the institution a lot of money due to this fraud cases. The institutions responsible for providing funds to such infirmaries might result in cutting aid due to issues of fraud and misappropriation. This can severely harm the operations of the hospital. In addition, the individual in charge of all the infirmaries at the headquarters seems reluctant in tackling the same issue. He even hangs up on Mrs. Mintz. This depicts that; this is not a novel problem. There also seems to be a relationship between the personnel at the SSH and individuals at the headquarters since the manager of operations does not even seem concerned to address the complaint. This case study depicts the critical role the pre-admission department in any infirmary plays, in any hospital’s functions. A singular mistake can have significant, multiple ramifications and might even result in loss of money, crucial staff as well as an institution’s reputation. It is, therefore, extremely crucial to have strong connections with all the departments of a hospital to guarantee efficient operations of an infirmary. It is also extremely vital to make sure that the personnel at the pre-admissions centers are employed for the interests of the organization. The well-being of clients should always be given priority in all facets of operations. A drastic alteration of the corporate policy might also be necessary. Works Cited Buchbinder, Sharon and Shanks, Nancy. Introduction to Health Care Management (2nd Edition). Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2012. Forbes, Jeff. Why the Pre Admission Process is a Critical Part of Transitional Care. SironaHealth, 2012. Retrieved from: Read More