Culture + Engagement Archives – Spark Health Partners

Examining the Decision to Outsource

Ryan Goodin — Tue, 18 Jun 2024 13:05:52 +0000

See why future-focused healthcare leaders view the revenue cycle as a value driver, not a cost center. … Read More

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Understanding the Financial and Referral Impact of Patient Satisfaction Scores

Susan Milligan, Director, Patient Experience — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 15:33:42 +0000

Patient satisfaction has transcended its status as a mere metric in the healthcare industry. Today, it stands as a critical determinant of an organization’s financial health and its prospects of the likelihood of patients and physicians referring others to their care. As healthcare continues to evolve, patient satisfaction scores have taken center stage, influencing reimbursement rates, patient retention and referrals.

The financial impact of patient satisfaction scores

Reimbursement rates

Patient satisfaction has become intricately tied to reimbursement rates, particularly with the introduction of value-based care models. The Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program, initiated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), allocates a portion of Medicare payments based on hospital performance, including patient satisfaction scores.

According to CMS data, over $1.9 billion in Medicare payments were at risk due to hospital performance in 2020.
Hospitals with higher patient satisfaction scores can earn additional payments through VBP programs.
TIP: Prioritize patient experience initiatives to secure higher reimbursement rates.

Patient retention

Patient satisfaction directly influences patient loyalty and retention. A satisfied patient is more likely to return to the same healthcare facility for future care needs. Conversely, a dissatisfied patient may seek alternatives, leading to a loss of revenue for the organization.

The Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) reports that it costs five times more to acquire a new patient than to retain an existing one.
Loyal patients are more likely to utilize additional services, further contributing to an organization’s financial stability.
TIP: Focus on building patient trust and loyalty through exceptional experiences.

The referral impact of patient satisfaction scores

Word-of-mouth referrals

Satisfied patients often become advocates for their healthcare providers, referring friends and family to the same facility. Word-of-mouth referrals can significantly impact an organization’s patient volume and revenue.

A study by the Journal of Healthcare Management found that 68% of patients would recommend their healthcare provider to others.
Positive online reviews and social media testimonials serve as powerful referral tools in the digital age.
TIP: Encourage satisfied patients to share their experiences through reviews and recommendations.

Physician referrals

In many cases, primary care physicians and specialists refer patients to other healthcare providers for specialized services or consultations. These referring physicians often take patient satisfaction scores into account when making referrals.

A HealthLeaders survey revealed that 60% of referring physicians consider patient satisfaction when referring patients to specialists.
Positive patient satisfaction scores can lead to increased referrals and collaboration with other healthcare providers.
TIP: Foster relationships with referring physicians and keep them informed about your organization’s commitment to patient satisfaction.

Tips for improving patient satisfaction scores

Patient satisfaction scores have become pivotal in determining the financial health and referral success of healthcare organizations. With the shift towards value-based care and increased consumerism in healthcare, prioritizing patient satisfaction is no longer optional. It is a strategic imperative.

To do so most effectively:

Enhance communication
• Implement effective communication strategies among staff and patients.
• Train healthcare providers to actively listen to patient concerns and address them promptly.
• Use technology, such as patient portals and telehealth, to improve communication channels.
Provide education
• Ensure patients fully understand their diagnoses, treatment plans, and medications.
• Offer educational resources, both in-person and online, to empower patients to manage their health effectively.
Streamline access to care
• Reduce wait times for appointments and in the waiting room.
• Implement efficient scheduling systems and telemedicine options to improve access to care.
Personalize care plans
• Tailor treatment plans to individual patient needs and preferences.
• Show empathy and cultural sensitivity in interactions with patients.
Collect and act on feedback
• Regularly solicit feedback from patients through surveys and direct conversations.
• Act on feedback promptly to address concerns and make necessary improvements.
Empower staff
• Provide ongoing training and support for healthcare staff to enhance their interpersonal skills.
• Recognize and reward staff for exceptional patient-centered care.
Utilize technology
• Leverage technology for appointment scheduling, virtual consultations and easy access to medical records.
• Implement patient experience platforms to monitor and improve satisfaction in real time.

By focusing on improving patient experiences, enhancing communication and utilizing technology effectively, healthcare organizations can not only boost their patient satisfaction scores but also secure their financial stability and referral growth.

In an era where patients have more choices than ever, exceptional patient-centered care is the key to thriving in the competitive healthcare landscape.

These materials are for general informational purposes only. These materials do not, and are not intended to, constitute legal or compliance advice, and you should not act or refrain from acting based on any information provided in these materials. Neither Spark Health Partners, nor any of its employees, are your lawyers. Please consult with your own legal counsel or compliance professional regarding specific legal or compliance questions you have.

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How to Prevent Burnout During an Electronic Healthcare Record Implementation

Andrew Ray, SVP, Operations Excellence + Innovation — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 16:36:51 +0000

What you need to know

Converting to a new electronic healthcare record (EHR) can be a monumental task for any healthcare organization. The technical needs are complex, but the work leading up to this change to a new system can also be quite overwhelming. The meetings, the questions received and other unknown elements can lead to an unsettling feeling of not being sure if this is the right path — and each of these factors can lead to burnout for staff involved in an implementation.

The surprising hidden risk of staff burnout

Burnout stems from the pressure that comes with managing multiple priorities and added daily responsibilities. This pressure can build as we try to manage multiple tasks at once, and is caused by our inability to maintain a positive and fulfilling work/life balance. To help prevent exhaustion, it’s critical to find that correct balance.

Burnout can show up in various ways for your staff, including:

Overextension: Some staff will become quiet, focusing on the tasks at hand and decreasing their work/life balance by putting in more hours.
Distraction: Others may become overly emotional and unable to focus on meeting productivity goals.
Avoidance: Still others may become frustrated with the process, not wanting to participate and focusing only on the workflows with which they currently feel comfortable.

Some staff may experience all of these issues, which will eventually impact their performance and job satisfaction. This could lead to them moving on from the organization which, in turn, can have a ripple effect on the performance and satisfaction of other staff. In fact, losing a high-performing staff member due to burnout can lead leading to additional stress and fear throughout the workforce.

Solving for the unique pressures of an EHR implementation

During an EHR transition, the normal pressures leading to burnout can be magnified. Staff are often asked to juggle their daily responsibilities along with the additional work of learning and implementing a new system. Competing priorities often make it difficult for leaders to allocate the time needed to learn the best practices and workflows of the new system.

The long timeframes associated with EHR implementations also mean that the pressures of meeting daily operational needs while managing a new system can drag on for months or years. Stretching staff thin for so long often leads to burnout and increases risk of attrition during a critical time.

Luckily, there’s no need to go into an EHR implementation unprepared. Having a readiness program in place can help support and promote a smooth transition to the new EHR. Readiness plans can help prevent burnout by organizing and prioritizing critical tasks, providing necessary status updates and visibility to all project stakeholders, and ultimately ensuring there is minimal financial and operational disruption during implementation.

Ensuring support for technology + teams

The right partner can support a healthcare organization by working with operational leaders to complete project tasks. If followed, these tasks can help each functional area be successful in their daily activities. Readiness efforts might include the creation of:

A legacy record plan: Effectively managing and maintaining the legacy record supports the integrity of the future EHR and prevents compliance issues.
Document management plan: It’s critical to assess how a new medical record system will impact scanning and indexing. What will shift for the documentation migration process and for faxing? How should those pieces of the record that may remain on paper be managed?
Operational workflows: Identifying key and unique organizational workflows to ensure there is a plan that staff know, in order to continue to be efficient.

A readiness liaison can help build confidence with the new EHR by explaining how the new system will look and operate. The planning that a readiness liaison completes helps support the knowledge depth of the current subject matter experts. The right liaison will support a team by:

Validating access + workflows: Reviewing the build prior to going live ensures that expected workflows are in place for a smooth transition.
Testing: Helping to validate the build through expert review can identify areas that will hinder a successful go-live and remediate build fixes.
Reviewing training plan: Reviewing and providing guidance on training plans helps support the subject matter experts and trainers in communicating best practices.
Reviewing dashboard and reporting: During this stage, a liaison will help review productivity and overall revenue cycle health.
Putting a post go-live plan in place: Establishing daily go-live meetings to track issues and to share examples with the technical team helps ensure go-live issues are addressed in a timely manner.

Readiness liaisons offer wide-ranging support

A readiness liaison partner can support healthcare teams in a variety of functional areas, from Patient Access to Billing. Their key focus areas — and the support they contribute — might vary on a case-by-case basis, depending on the department’s needs, as illustrated below.

Health Information Management (HIM)

In Health Information Management, for example, a readiness liaison may focus on helping teams return to ideal benchmarks quickly after go-live, such as scanning within 24 hours, coding within 72 hours or achieving auto-coding of diagnostic accounts with an 80% success rate.

Additionally, readiness liaisons paired with HIM teams can support by reviewing:

Clinical Documentation Integrity (CDI) process
Simple Visit Coding criteria
Dashboards and productivity reports

They’ll also work to identify and validate a full and accurate record for coding, release of information and retention, along with optimizing workflows for the Master Patient Index, chart corrections, document capture/scanning and deficiency tracking as well as provider notification.

Patient Access

Revenue Integrity

In order to support the revenue needs of an organization, readiness liaisons are prepared to review charging methodologies, the reconciliation process, the fee schedule or the markup table. They will help drive revenue by looking for missing charges, late charges and inefficient processes, and by ensuring charges meet compliance. In addition, they can ensure that all policies match new workflows once put into place and can facilitate continued departmental education.

These support partners offer a deep understanding of:

Charge interfaces and the systems that help support charging
Service lines and specialty department workflows
The CDM and supply chain connections, including the life cycle of supplies

Physician Revenue Cycle (PRC)

Readiness liaisons working with physician revenue cycle teams help refine and optimize workflows to uncover missing revenue, bridge gaps between providers and coders, and expedite efficient physician revenue management.

These liaisons can offer patient registration support; assist with prior authorizations, referrals and co-pay collection; help in understanding real-time eligibility (RTE) and ensure chargeable orders.

They also help ensure the longevity of each of these improvements through continued education for PRC staff, including charging and reconciliation workshops, as well as reconciling policies with new and existing workflows.

Billing

A readiness liaison engaged in supporting the Billing department might review and suggest improvements for customer service workflows, or set statement and payment plan parameters.

In addition to these responsibilities, readiness liaisons are trained to assist Billing to:

Validate single billing office (SBO) workflows
Review cash posting workflows (a cash management practice review)
Validate workflows for revenue recovery and underpayments
Work queue development and ownership for edits and stop bills
Review unbilled management workflows

They also work to review regional or state requirements, credit workflows or unique billing practices for provided services and specialty departments like research and transplant services. A readiness liaison might assess claim requirements, invoices, AR follow-up, denials management and audit and appeal processes.

In summary

Staff burnout is a very real risk during an EHR implementation, but the process isn’t one that an organization needs to undertake alone. Having a readiness program in place prior to implementation and working with an experienced partner that is trained and prepared to offer support during the process can go a long way toward ensuring a smooth transition to a new EHR.

______

Ready to take the guesswork out of your EHR implementation? Spark Health Partners’ Epic Readiness Program provides a team of more than 60 Epic-certified subject matter experts to serve as readiness liaisons to bridge the gap between clinical, financial and revenue cycle teams to guide development and set-up of your new system. We focus on building efficiency, creating and validating workflows, and providing hands-on support during go-live.

Our team has supported clients with more than 40 Epic go-lives, helping organizations recover faster than the average Epic client. With experience across more than 75 different instances of Epic, we know the metrics health systems need to track to prevent disruption, and we build the dashboards needed to monitor every step of the process.

Connect with us today to ensure you’re maximizing the power of your new investment and setting your system up for future success.

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3 Steps for Establishing a Successful Physician Liaison Program

Christel Tyree, Sr. Project Manager — Mon, 08 May 2023 10:55:00 +0000

The lack of a physician liaison program, or formalized relationship management program, between pre-access staff (acute scheduling, pre-authorization and pre-registration) and referring providers can create access barriers and attract patient complaints. When those two parties don’t engage in proactive communication, the result can be poor perceptions of pre-access by referring physicians, which in turn can negatively impact hospital referral volumes.

Physician office teams strive to advocate for patients, implement medically effective interventions and ensure each patient has equitable access to needed medical services. Community providers resist patient referrals to medical service facilities when real or perceived access barriers such as inadequacies in care or gaps in pre-access services seem to exist. Therefore, it is crucial for pre-access to create a relationship management team specifically dedicated to removing those barriers. The relationship management team’s primary focus should be on understanding provider referral preferences and identifying chances to minimize referral leakage. They should also establish a direct and responsive communication channel for addressing access concerns promptly. By proactively sharing essential information, trust will be fostered and the patient experience enhanced, ultimately increasing referrals to client facilities.

Below are three steps to begin removing barriers and building an effective and proactive communications strategy between pre-access and referring providers.

1. Choose + Train the Right People To Manage Physician Relationships

These are the people who will engage provider offices to create, maintain and strengthen relationships to improve patient access to hospital services and encourage utilization of hospital services. They determine the cadence for rounding based on current referral volumes, perceived opportunities to increase utilization and provider office satisfaction with hospital access. They also identify and strategize opportunities to improve or educate provider offices on the referral process.

In addition to strong knowledge of pre-access products and services, a candidate should be well-versed in service recovery techniques, know the referral process and be able to identify trends via data analysis. Essential soft skills include the following:

Excellent communication skills and the ability to listen and understand needs
Driven to create needed change and doesn’t accept complacency
Exuding professionalism and facilitating trusting relationships for a better patient experience

Staffing needs vary by organization, but in general, it’s important to take into account the extent of current barriers, community referral patterns, competition and volume of services currently being provided to the community.

2. Assess the Current State

Start by asking questions to frame the initial goals and success statement of the relationship management team, such as:

What facility access pain points are experienced by referring providers? Conduct rounding in physician practices and ask whether they are experiencing challenges when referring. Ask follow-up questions to determine where barriers exist, e.g., scheduling, patient access, etc.
How are pre-access services (e.g., provider self-scheduling portals, authorization services and “schedistration”) being used in the market?
In what ways is the competition better serving referring providers and patients? While rounding in physician practices, ask providers how the organization can improve to gain their business. Use a consultative approach to problem-solving: Ask about the pain points, work to understand their needs and present solutions to address issues they’re experiencing.
Is there an opportunity to improve perceptions of pre-access services? Set goals such as an increase in referrals from a specific practice, an increase in technology utilization or fewer complaints. Build a relationship with referring practices and follow through on initiatives for improvement discussed with those practices.

3. Plan + Execute Improvement Strategies

With the right people and information in place, the team can begin to identify and drive patient/pre-access improvement. At this stage, it’s essential to collaborate with the CFO, business development, physician chairs and other leaders including in EHR and IT.
Long-term success requires effective relationships and marketing. Consider the following to create a long-term relationship management strategy:

Drive system changes to improve referral experience and patient access to care. These changes could include working with hospital leadership to consolidate how orders are received by the health system, promoting a standardized way to schedule appointments (e.g., one phone number versus four, or provider self-scheduling) and proposing system build changes to streamline scheduling and minimize patient delays.
Establish easy-to-use methods to track and trend data to show ROI and positive trending in key areas, such as reduction in access barriers, improved provider perceptions, decrease in escalated issues and gains in hospital referrals. Methods used to track and trend data include referral volumes by provider (reviewed bi-weekly) and trending feedback received from referring offices, reviewed monthly. It is essential to track trends on a continuous basis, identify new areas for improvement and strategize accordingly.
Create a communications plan to report impacts of the physician liaison program achievements to leadership. This report, occurring monthly, should include trending office feedback, process improvement projects and wins from the previous month.

In Summary

Implementing a physician liaison program between pre-access staff and referring providers can break down frustrating barriers and create a better patient experience. Removing barriers, whether real or perceived, will improve patient referrals from community providers and offer a direct line of communication when access concerns arise, facilitating a trusting relationship. Using the three steps above, your organization can work towards removing the barriers to build the relationship between pre-access and referring providers.

These materials are for general informational purposes only. These materials do not, and are not intended to, constitute legal or compliance advice, and you should not act or refrain from acting based on any information provided in these materials. Please consult with your own legal counsel or compliance professional regards specific legal or compliance questions you have.

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6 Tips to Starting a Mental Health Movement

Susan Milligan, Director, Patient Experience — Wed, 03 May 2023 18:24:45 +0000

Starting a mental health movement can be a powerful way to raise awareness, reduce stigma and promote mental health and well-being in the workplace. To do this, there are two foundational requirements: breaking the stigma that often surrounds mental health and leaders to drive the movement.

In our busy lives, we often tend to neglect our mental health needs because they may not be as apparent as our physical needs, or we may not prioritize them as highly. Starting with a healthy mindset about the importance of mental health is essential.

Many organizations offer Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) that connect associates with free or discounted counseling services. These services not only support physical health but also provide guidance on establishing work-life balance, managing finances and seeking help in dealing with mental health challenges.

By following these six quick tips, leaders can emphasize the importance of both physical and mental well-being:

1. Allow Autonomy

When you give your team members the freedom to make decisions, it can lead to increased job satisfaction and better service delivery. By encouraging autonomy, you empower your team to evaluate situations based on their own standards, which often results in improved performance.

Here’s a quick tip: Hold regular meetings where you can discuss decisions and review the outcomes together. This helps create a team approach to problem-solving and allows everyone to learn from any mistakes. You can even create a playbook for common situations to guide your team’s approach and ensure consistency in the future.

2. Establish Environmental Mastery

Autonomy and environmental mastery go hand in hand in empowering your team and building their competence and expertise. When associates can make effective use of surrounding opportunities — flex schedules, hybrid roles, cross-training, educational opportunities, etc. — their personal needs and values are supported, increasing happiness and well-being.

Here’s a quick tip: Don’t be afraid to think outside the box when it comes to scheduling and workflow management. There’s more than one way to get things done, so be open to different methods and approaches. By doing so, you can fill schedules, meet goals and drive change in new and innovative ways.

3. Encourage Personal Growth

At the end of the day, our most valuable asset is our people. As leaders, it’s crucial to understand our team members on an individual level so we can help them reach their full potential. This means building strong relationships through regular check-ins, one-on-one meetings and team gatherings with open and honest communication.

When you know your team’s aspirations and developmental goals, it’s easier to guide them in the right direction. As your associates see their skills and abilities improve, they’ll gain more confidence and seek out new opportunities for growth.

Here’s a quick tip: Don’t assume you know what your team members want. Schedule meaningful conversations to discuss their short- and long-term goals, and work with them to create a growth plan. Celebrate the small wins along the way and foster accountability to keep them motivated and on track.

4. Inspire Positive Relations with Others

We all need someone we can count on, especially at work. Having a “battle buddy” — a work confidant you trust and can confide in – can make a big difference. These relationships help build understanding, empathy and a safe space where you can be yourself.

Here’s a quick tip: Start building these relationships right from the onboarding process! Connect new hires with someone who can support them as they get started in their new role. Plan team events both inside and outside of the office, and make sure to include your virtual team members as well. Volunteer together and create a strong team dynamic where everyone feels included and valued.

5. Connect to Purpose

Teams that feel connected to their work are more likely to thrive. When a job becomes a calling, people find more meaning and fulfillment in what they do. To foster this kind of connection, it’s important to focus your team’s vision on the mission of your organization. Help them understand the importance of their presence and dedication to the cause.

Here’s a quick tip: Work with your team to set meaningful goals that align with both their personal and professional aspirations. Show them how their work directly contributes to the mission of the organization. For example, if your team is focused on collecting payments, explain how that money is used to support patient care or community initiatives. When your team understands the bigger picture, they’re more likely to feel motivated and engaged in their work.

6. Foster Self-Acceptance

Self-acceptance is key to overall well-being because it allows us to embrace every part of ourselves, not just the “positive” aspects. As a leader, you can model self-acceptance by showing vulnerability and sharing your own struggles and experiences to help employees feel comfortable doing the same. You can also celebrate diversity and individual differences within the team by encouraging employees to share their cultural backgrounds, beliefs and experiences — creating a richer, more inclusive workplace culture.

Here’s a quick tip: Encourage employees to practice gratitude by keeping a daily journal where they write down three things they are grateful for each day. This exercise can help shift their focus from negative self-talk to a more positive outlook and increase self-acceptance.

Key Takeaways

Focusing on mental health is not a one-day exercise.

Great leaders can recognize when their associates are stretched and nearing their limits. Being able to spot the signs of overwork, stress or mental health needs is crucial in creating a culture that supports mental health.

It’s important not to wait for associates to express their frustration or reach the point of burnout. Instead, leaders should take a proactive approach by reassigning responsibilities or providing time off to allow their team to refresh and recharge.

Leaders play a vital role in driving this movement and creating an atmosphere of support and empowerment. Be that leader who takes action to prioritize the mental health of your team.

Susan Milligan, CHAM, CRCR, is the patient experience director for Spark Health Partners. Informed by her experiences in healthcare and as the mother of a child with Down syndrome, she is passionate about helping healthcare organizations improve their patient experience through empathy, empowerment and engagement.

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How to Engage Employees + Ultimately Improve Patient Experience

Susan Milligan, Director, Patient Experience — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 15:14:43 +0000

Keeping patients satisfied as well as healthy is critical for healthcare organizations. A patient’s level of satisfaction during a visit can affect their health outcomes, impact their decision to return to that provider and influence their overall perception of that organization.

Healthcare providers know clinical care quality is a key driver of patient satisfaction. Less commonly considered is the organization’s level of employee engagement and how that ultimately effects the patient experience.

The higher the level of engagement, the more willing your employees are to deliver an outstanding experience to your patients. Engaged employees who are happy and interested in their roles will be much more invested in exceeding expectations of their leaders and your patients, friendlier when dealing with patients face-to-face or over the phone and more productive in their day-to-day responsibilities.

So, consider your employee engagement program central to your patient experience strategy.

Three Levels of Employee Engagement

What does it mean to be engaged? An employee’s engagement can range from neutral sentiment about a company to high motivation and drive for success. Whether employees are motivated impacts productivity, quality of work and the experience of those around them, including patients.

You can think of employees as falling into one of three categories:

Engaged – satisfied with the company and motivated to work hard and do a good job
Unengaged – getting by doing the minimum, but not motivated to do more
Disengaged – previously engaged; but now so unhappy it shows in their work and influences those around them

How to Establish + Execute a Successful Employee Engagement Program

Start (but don’t stop) with a survey.

Engagement surveys are an easy way to check the pulse of a team and learn more about the key drivers of your employees’ satisfaction. Consider using short quarterly surveys, or a larger biannual or annual survey to prevent survey fatigue and provide enough time to respond to results.

Surveys are meant to evoke discussion, invite improvement and foster collaboration. Without follow-through and commitment to action, surveys can fall short. Leaders must understand the importance of spending time with their team members and learning what is important to them. One of the best things a leader can do is ask open-ended questions to maintain a clear understanding of their team’s needs, the effectiveness of interventions and additional methods to improve engagement.

Establish an Employee Advisory Group (EAG).

An EAG is a highly effective way to give employees a voice and the ability to contribute to organizational decision-making, which is a proven method of driving employee satisfaction. To be most effective, an EAG needs a sense of purpose, doable tasks with a timeline, recognition and a belief its input will be valued and impactful. Even the singular step of creating and effectively overseeing an EAG is likely to have a significantly positive impact on engagement and ultimately patient experience.

Read our 4 Tips for Forming an Employee Advisory Group

Invest in development.

Incorporate development into your organization’s engagement strategy to help employees become proficient in their responsibilities and gain additional skills. Build a consistent culture of development by identifying and communicating core competencies employees need to be successful. You should also provide a variety of training and upskilling opportunities, empowering employees to self-manage their careers in collaboration with their leaders.

Make sure mobility and advancement opportunities, as well as the steps needed to achieve them, are well-known for all roles throughout your organization, including non-clinical and administrative roles.

Make recognizing employees a habit.

Regularly recognizing employees is a great way to make employees feel they and the work they do is valued. Encourage praise and shout-outs on company communication channels. Set up an employee-of-the-month program or similar awards to spotlight engaged employees and give them an opportunity to share their pride outside of your organization. Simply taking time to acknowledge those who are going above and beyond can have positive ripple effects across your organization.

Strengthen the sense of community.

Encourage participation in opportunities that align with your organization’s core values like volunteering, investing in employee support funds, donating to charities or getting involved in the community in other ways. Creating a culture of community and giving back not only helps those on the receiving end while elevating employee engagement, but it also reinforces a positive brand reputation in your community.

Key Takeaways

Your employee engagement program should be central to your patient experience strategy.

Satisfied teams promote higher patient experiences because they live and work in environments that foster empathy, engagement and empowerment. Those engaged employees then emulate that experience for patients. Make employee engagement a top priority, not only for its immediate effects, but the domino effect it will have throughout your organization and community.

These materials are for general informational purposes only. These materials do not, and are not intended to, constitute legal or compliance advice, and you should not act or refrain from acting based on any information provided in these materials. Neither Spark Health Partners, nor any of its employees, are your lawyers. Please consult with your own legal counsel or compliance professional regarding specific legal or compliance questions you have.

Get the latest insights

Spark’s monthly newsletter keeps you ahead of the curve with unique perspectives and actionable insights about the issues at the top of your agenda.

The post How to Engage Employees + Ultimately Improve Patient Experience appeared first on Spark Health Partners.

4 Tips for Forming an Employee Advisory Group

Susan Milligan, Director, Patient Experience — Mon, 27 Feb 2023 22:20:44 +0000

More so than surveys and individual conversations, Employee Advisory Groups (EAGs — employee representatives who come together to discuss and implement changes — can make employees feel like they are truly taking part in the execution of changes that will affect their jobs. They can also increase morale and improve job satisfaction. They allow different departments to come together to discuss issues that matter to them and why. Together, the group can focus on what seems to have the most widespread effect and develop the best approach to proposing and negotiating changes with leadership.

When forming an EAG, leaders should:

1. Discuss the formation of the group including the purpose and who should volunteer.

Include representatives from all departments and shifts, while keeping the group small.
Create a name and mission statement so members feel connected to the group’s purpose.

2. Provide regular coaching and development for the team.

Attend but don’t lead. Leaders should participate, endorse decisions and explain the “why” behind what can’t be done.
Identify specific, measurable goals.
Review the results of the employee engagement survey and establish focused priorities for action.

3. Establish a chain of command for decision making.

- Ask members to consult widely with colleagues to understand root causes and solicit ideas for solutions.
- Put the members in charge of implementing action plans.
- Clarify the extent or limits of authority, keeping in mind the group must have some decision-making authority.

4. Focus on conquering two challenges: morale and operational processes.

Ask questions such as:

How can the work environment be improved, making it fun and enjoyable?
How can workflows be improved to make day-to-day functions more efficient/effective?
How can peers and patients best be supported?
What tools or resources are needed?

Key Takeaways

Giving employees a voice and the ability to contribute to organizational decision-making is a proven method of driving employee engagement.

An advisory group needs regular guidance from its leadership sponsor to be sure they are staying on task and tackling problems with realistic solutions. EAGs can make employees feel engaged, but also present opinions and ideas for solutions that may not have been on leadership’s radar. Perhaps the best part of EAGs is they have a low bar of entry and require little to no financial resources.

Even the singular step of creating and effectively overseeing an EAG is likely to have a significantly positive impact on employee engagement, morale and overall company culture.

These materials are for general informational purposes only. These materials do not, and are not intended to, constitute legal or compliance advice, and you should not act or refrain from acting based on any information provided in these materials. Neither Spark Health Partners, nor any of its employees, are your lawyers. Please consult with your own legal counsel or compliance professional regarding specific legal or compliance questions you have.

Get the latest insights

Spark’s monthly newsletter keeps you ahead of the curve with unique perspectives and actionable insights about the issues at the top of your agenda.

The post 4 Tips for Forming an Employee Advisory Group appeared first on Spark Health Partners.

Why Saying “That’s Not My Job” Can Harm Your Career

Susan Milligan, Director, Patient Experience — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 19:05:00 +0000

The phrase “other duties as assigned,” meant as a catch-all for minor tasks in job descriptions, has been used and abused so often that it’s become fodder for memes and workplace blogs. Although there are limits on reasonable requests on the job, hauling out “That’s not my job” as the default when asked to perform outside of your everyday routine can actually set you back in your career.

“Job” versus “role”

Let’s take patient experience as an example. Patient experience is everyone’s responsibility. It’s everyone’s job to ensure that our patients have outstanding interactions with our organization. However, everyone has a different role in making that happen. Your role might be that you register patients. But if wayfinding is difficult at your facility, you could be asked to escort a patient to an ancillary area.

“But transporting patients isn’t what I do,” you might think. You might be tempted to push back. But consider this: It is your job to ensure the patient’s needs are met. It is your job to uphold the goal of providing an exceptional patient experience. In short, it’s important to understand that you may be asked to use your skillset outside of your role to contribute to the success of your organization.

The risk of saying no

In the short term, refusing to take on an additional task that isn’t a normal part of your day-to-day might seem like a good idea, especially if you’re already overloaded. Refusing to step outside of your scope might even help you complete the tasks in front of you, but that doesn’t mean it’s a winning strategy.

People who seem unwilling to help can bring down team morale and productivity. Not only that, it could earn them a reputation as not being a team player. On the flip side, a willingness to accept extra tasks could provide evidence of reliability and a “can-do attitude.” Those qualities are what leaders look for when hiring and promoting. Furthermore, engaged employees tend to be more satisfied at work.

When to push back

A willingness to go above and beyond is a great trait, but there are limits to what constitutes an acceptable request. There are times when pushing back is a good idea for you and your organization. Here are some examples of times when saying “no” (or at least not saying “yes”) might be helpful:

Performing the task could put you at physical risk. Let’s say you’re asked to take on a task requiring heavy lifting, which isn’t part of your daily work and which you are unable to do. This is one scenario where speaking up is a good idea—employers don’t want to risk their people getting hurt.
You don’t have appropriate access and/or training for the technology you’ll need to perform the task. For example, if you’re asked to input data into a computer system, but you don’t have a username and password, let your manager know so he or she can either help you get a username and password or reassign the task to someone who has one.
There’s already a person who does that task, and they have availability to do it. Going back to the patient access example, some hospitals have volunteers whose job it is to escort patients where they need to go. In this case, if you’re asked to escort a patient, you should escort them to the appropriate desk or call the volunteer while they’re with you. Going above and beyond doesn’t always mean doing exactly what you’re asked, but using your resources to meet the needs of your patients while responding to the request at hand.
You’re asked so often to step outside your role that you’re ignoring your core tasks. This can be a tricky one, but here again, the response should be to escalate the request rather than say “no” outright. This is a good time to talk with your manager about how to prioritize—or even whether it’s time for a promotion. Keep in mind, you are sometimes asked to take on duties above your role for succession planning. It’s a chance to prepare and position yourself for future opportunities.

These materials are for general informational purposes only. These materials do not, and are not intended to, constitute legal or compliance advice, and you should not act or refrain from acting based on any information provided in these materials. Please consult with your own legal counsel or compliance professional regards specific legal or compliance questions you have.

The post Why Saying “That’s Not My Job” Can Harm Your Career appeared first on Spark Health Partners.

Enhance Your Point-of-Service Collections, Enhance the Patient Experience

Susan Milligan, Director, Patient Experience — Mon, 17 May 2021 18:59:00 +0000

Patient experience has a critical impact on patient retention and overall satisfaction of patients and providers.

As care delivery options increase and patients become more selective about their choice of healthcare providers, patient experience is becoming increasingly important to consider across all touchpoints in the care continuum, not just clinical.

Ensuring a positive patient experience means not talking about financial obligations or payments upfront, right? Wrong.

There is a common myth that if healthcare organizations implement best practices for revenue cycle, like collecting at the point of service, patient experience scores automatically drop.

The truth — if you lead with empathy, engagement and empowerment you’ll successfully improve point-of-service (POS) collections while simultaneously improving patient satisfaction scores.

Discussing financial liability with patients upfront isn’t just about telling them how much they owe — it’s about helping them be informed about their financial responsibility, helping connect them to financial aid, determining if they are eligible for discounts and helping them set up payment plans if needed.

Nothing will kill patient experience faster than getting a bill two weeks after you’ve been seen and not knowing it’s coming.

Confusion leads to failure to pay and adds unnecessary stress to the patient. A successful point of service conversation results in payment and provides education to patients.

6 Tips to Improve Your POS Collections + Patient Experience

Develop an overarching vision to implement or increase overall POS collections, and ensure there is strong executive support.
Plan interdepartmental initiatives to ensure an associate- and patient-centered implementation including stakeholders from across the organization, not just patient access teams.
Set standards and expectations for leaders and associates to drive accountability, consistency and overall program adoption. Provide process documentation and scripting for all locations and areas to ensure consistent conversations are taking place.
Establish cohesive training and education so teams fully understand the program. Empower your associates to be subject matter experts. Ensure training covers patient experience, service recovery, insurance verification, benefits and POS scripting.
Ensure the right tools are in place. A real-time eligibility tool integrated in your HIS provides real-time answers to key questions — Is the patient eligible for insurance? What’s the deductible? What has the patient already paid? A patient liability estimator is critical to provide real-time estimates on out-of-pocket liability instead of just collecting on remaining deductibles or strictly co-pays. Thorough reporting ensures you can track how far you’ve come, where your opportunities are and where to focus efforts with reports like daily collections, missed opportunities and estimate accuracy. Ensure you’re monitoring collections and patient experience so neither degrades.
Focus on real-time resolution — don’t let patients leave unhappy.

Key Takeaways

The most important thing is to never abandon the efforts.

Stopping once you start can be damaging to your organization’s reputation. Making these conversations part of your daily routine, supporting financial advocacy for patients and clearly outlining benefits prevents unwelcome surprises and creates a positive experience for your patients.

These materials are for general informational purposes only. These materials do not, and are not intended to, constitute legal or compliance advice, and you should not act or refrain from acting based on any information provided in these materials. Neither Spark Health Partners, nor any of its employees, are your lawyers. Please consult with your own legal counsel or compliance professional regarding specific legal or compliance questions you have.

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The post Enhance Your Point-of-Service Collections, Enhance the Patient Experience appeared first on Spark Health Partners.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | OPERATOR INSIGHTS | Workplace DEI Best Practices

Rich Lewis, AVP, Culture + Inclusion — Wed, 05 May 2021 18:53:00 +0000

Julie speaks with Rich Lewis (AVP of Culture & Inclusion) about diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. Rich shares some DEI best practices, the purpose of DEI, common misconceptions, the value these programs provides to your workforce, how to approach starting a program at your company, and more.

Operator Insights is a Revenue Cycle Services thought leadership series from Spark Health Partners, who was voted Best In KLAS for healthcare revenue cycle companies in 2020 and 2021.

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Spark’s monthly newsletter keeps you ahead of the curve with unique perspectives and actionable insights about the issues at the top of your agenda.

The post Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | OPERATOR INSIGHTS | Workplace DEI Best Practices appeared first on Spark Health Partners.

Culture + Engagement​ Archives – Spark Health Partners

Examining the Decision to Outsource​

Understanding the Financial and Referral Impact of Patient Satisfaction Scores

The financial impact of patient satisfaction scores

Reimbursement rates

Patient retention

The referral impact of patient satisfaction scores

Word-of-mouth referrals

Physician referrals

Tips for improving patient satisfaction scores

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How to Prevent Burnout During an Electronic Healthcare Record Implementation

What you need to know

The surprising hidden risk of staff burnout

Solving for the unique pressures of an EHR implementation

Ensuring support for technology + teams

Readiness liaisons offer wide-ranging support

Health Information Management (HIM)

Patient Access

Revenue Integrity

Physician Revenue Cycle (PRC)

Billing

In summary

3 Steps for Establishing a Successful Physician Liaison Program

1. Choose + Train the Right People To Manage Physician Relationships

2. Assess the Current State

3. Plan + Execute Improvement Strategies

In Summary

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6 Tips to Starting a Mental Health Movement

1. Allow Autonomy

2. Establish Environmental Mastery

3. Encourage Personal Growth

4. Inspire Positive Relations with Others

5. Connect to Purpose

6. Foster Self-Acceptance

Key Takeaways

Focusing on mental health is not a one-day exercise.

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How to Engage Employees + Ultimately Improve Patient Experience

Three Levels of Employee Engagement

How to Establish + Execute a Successful Employee Engagement Program

Start (but don’t stop) with a survey.

Establish an Employee Advisory Group (EAG).

Invest in development.

Make recognizing employees a habit.

Strengthen the sense of community.

Key Takeaways

Your employee engagement program should be central to your patient experience strategy.

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4 Tips for Forming an Employee Advisory Group

1. Discuss the formation of the group including the purpose and who should volunteer.

2. Provide regular coaching and development for the team.

3. Establish a chain of command for decision making.

4. Focus on conquering two challenges: morale and operational processes.

Key Takeaways

Giving employees a voice and the ability to contribute to organizational decision-making is a proven method of driving employee engagement.

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Why Saying “That’s Not My Job” Can Harm Your Career

“Job” versus “role”

The risk of saying no

When to push back

Enhance Your Point-of-Service Collections, Enhance the Patient Experience

6 Tips to Improve Your POS Collections + Patient Experience

Key Takeaways

The most important thing is to never abandon the efforts.

Get the latest insights

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | OPERATOR INSIGHTS | Workplace DEI Best Practices

Get the latest insights

Culture + Engagement Archives – Spark Health Partners

Examining the Decision to Outsource