Five Patient Registration Best Practices
A slow, error-prone patient registration process can cause long wait times, frustrated patients, and claim denials that hurt your bottom line. The good news? By making a few key changes, you can streamline registration, improve accuracy, and enhance the patient experience.
Let’s cover five practical strategies to improve your patient registration workflow and set your organization up for success.
1. Capture Data to Reduce Errors
Mistakes in patient registration can lead to denied claims, billing issues, and compliance risks. One way to improve accuracy is by implementing screen recording during registration.
How it works: Screen recording captures every keystroke, ensuring there’s a detailed record of the data entered. This makes it easier to audit entries and train staff on best practices.
Why it helps: If a patient disputes an error, or if there’s a compliance issue, having a video record provides clear evidence of what was entered. Plus, it helps with quality assurance and reduces repeat work.
Consideration: Choose a system that complies with industry security standards and regulations to help protect patient information.
2. Standardize Staff Scripts for Patient Registration Conversations
Does your team follow a consistent approach when collecting patient information? If not, important details might be missed, leading to claim rejections and billing confusion.
Solution: Provide a standardized script for staff to follow during patient registration. This ensures they ask the right questions and collect accurate data every time.
Take it further: Implement call recording technology to review interactions and improve training. This can help you identify areas where communication can be improved—whether it’s explaining copays or verifying insurance details.
What it looks like in action: See how Health First trained their staff along with voice recording tools to improve estimations and increase POS collections, reaching $2 million in upfront collections.
3. Measure Progress Through Regular Quality Assurance Checks
Determining your end-goals for improving your patient registration system makes it easy to track progress. Regular quality assurance checks help ensure that processes are running smoothly and efficiently. While every organization is different, here are some key performance indicators (KPIs) to get you started:
- Claim denial rates due to registration errors
- Average registration time per patient
- Accuracy of insurance information collected
- Percentage of registrations completed before appointment
- Upfront payment collection rate
- Patient and physician satisfaction
What it looks like in action: See how Floyd Medical Center utilized a combination of scripting and call recording technology to enhance not only their registration processes, but also claims denials and compliance.
“Our recorded [phone] documentation and PixCert [electronic] documents have been instrumental in the overturning of denials. We consider it securing the hospital’s revenue.”
– Assistant Director, Pre-Registration Services at Floyd Medical Center
4. Offer Contactless Patient Registration
Today’s patients expect convenient digital options, much like checking into a flight online or ordering a ride share on their phone. Contactless registration makes the process just as simple, improving efficiency and satisfaction.
Why it works for patients and providers alike:
- Patients can upload ID, insurance, and medical documents before their visit
- Reduces paperwork and check-in times
- Minimizes contact, improving safety and efficiency
- Enhances data security by reducing physical document handling
- Improves patient flow by reducing bottlenecks at check-in
Potential tech options: Patient Request Forms and FormUSign, both part of the Trace® platform from Vyne Medical, allows patients to securely submit documents online, ensuring all necessary paperwork is in place before they arrive. Wondering if this could be the right fit for your organization? Let’s discuss your needs.
Best Practice: Promote digital registration on your website and appointment reminders to encourage patient adoption. Making it easy for customers to see this enhances the likelihood of them utilizing it.
5. Choose the Right Tech for a Seamless Patient Registration Process
A fragmented registration system slows down your staff and frustrates patients and staff alike. The right technology can centralize data, improve communication, and streamline patient check-ins. Not only that, it can provide proof when you need it most – during the claims denials process.
What to look for in a system:
- Easy integration with your EMR and billing systems
- Encrypted storage for patient documents
- Automated data validation features to flag missing or incorrect data
Look for a system that enhances your current workflow while also being scalable for future growth.
Next Steps: Let’s Optimize Your Patient Registration Process Together
Did you find these steps helpful? Would you like to see if Vyne Medical’s Trace platform could be a fit for your organization? Let’s talk.
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