Optimizing Patient Access with Technology and Partnerships

To overcome the numerous challenges with patient access, healthcare organizations must take practical steps to implement a model focused on centralization. Technology and strategic partnerships have a critical role in optimizing a holistic approach to achieve operational excellence and financial success. By enabling a technology-first methodology with the optimal team, healthcare organizations can enhance automation and achieve scalability that improves workflows and reduces revenue cycle operating costs.

Leveraging Technology

An effective patient access model must have technology as a focus in the approach to maturation. Mature, ready-to-adopt solutions include automated benefit and eligibility checks, patient responsibility estimates, insurance coverage discovery, and scheduling technology. These technologies can streamline operations while reducing manual touches and the administrative burden, freeing staff to focus on more patient-centric work. Less mature automation solutions, such as prior authorization automation, require healthcare organizations to evaluate before implementation.

Overall, leveraging technology can streamline processes for scheduling, eligibility and benefits verification, and obtaining authorizations, increasing staff efficiency and accuracy. Implementing the right technology tools enables healthcare organizations to improve operational efficiency while ultimately reducing front-end related denials and improving patient engagement.

Building the Right Strategic Partnerships

The right strategic partner can enhance the implementation of patient access improvements. A trusted partner brings deep expertise in the patient access continuum. By selecting a partner with experience in deploying AI and automation technology and managing complex workflows, healthcare organizations can streamline integrations, avoid bottlenecks, and deliver a more seamless patient experience.

A hybrid patient access approach, combining in-house and global teams, is often a cost-effective and scalable solution. It provides around-the-clock coverage for time-sensitive tasks like prior authorization and Notice of Admission (NOA) and helps mitigate the impact of workforce shortages. Healthcare organizations that have implemented this model have seen a significant return on investment (ROI), with benefits including reduced denial rates, accelerated claims processing, and improved cash flow.

Measuring Success

Outcomes should be continuously tracked with carefully defined success metrics to monitor the impact of a centralized patient access model. Establishing key performance indicators (KPIs) and accountability measures ensures goal alignment and prepares the workforce for centralized operations. Regularly monitoring patient access efficiency and financial clearance metrics can provide data-driven insights to help healthcare organizations refine operations and adapt to evolving payer requirements. Post-centralization performance metrics also help identify improvement areas to maintain and optimize the ideal delivery model for achieving and maintaining expected results.

Learn more about how to implement a tech-first approach to patient access and build strategic partnerships for a high-performing team focused on continuous improvement. Download our white paper, "Transforming Patient Access: A Practical Guide to Maturity," and discover actionable strategies and insights to optimize patient access and achieve financial success in revenue cycle management.