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PAS responsible for visitors first impressionby Susan Pletcher, CHAMDirector, Health Information and Patient Access Services Patient Access Services (PAS) is most often responsible for providing patients and visitors with their first impressions of our hospital. “We work very hard on guest relations,” said Cindy Williams, manager for patient registration and financial counselors. “Patients and families coming into the hospital are often in a stressful situation. Our job is to ease their concerns in a caring and efficient manner.” During the access process, patients sometimes are feeling apprehensive and need support. “When people aren’t feeling well we need to be fast, accurate and above all, friendly,” said registration staffer Tina Young. “If we don’t do our job right, the problems reverberate throughout the hospital. Our main priority is to balance efficiency with caring and concern.” Sheila Springer, registration clerk at the CMH ED, concurs with that. In an average day, the access services staff handles a variety of requests from many persons, including physicians, nurses, patients and families. The financial counselors must be familiar with the procedures and guidelines of various insurance companies and government sponsored health care programs. In 2001, PAS registered more than 78,000 patients with more than 24,000 of those being admitted. The average length of stay was 5.8 days. According to Maureen McDaniel, manager of bed management, MUHA averages 70 admissions per day Monday through Friday and 30 admissions on Saturdays and Sundays. The busiest admission day of week is Monday. Test your Access Services Trivia
The percent of unscheduled admissions is:
The time of day most patients are admitted is:
The busiest day of the week for admissions is:
Patients and families are encouraged to have transportation arranged
for a discharge time of:
Answers: C, D, D, B, A
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