Further Your Education
Published October 20, 2011 | 
Let’s face it, we all get into this line of work to make money. It is a job and some of us even make it a career. There are literally hundreds of different educational opportunities out there to learn how to do this job or portions of it. I learned this job the hard way..by doing it and keeping myself abreast of changes happening around me. But with today’s economy and the problems that we face everyday learning a new career or getting more education in your current career is now a necessity rather than a luxury. Keep yourself abreast of the current requirements in your job, read articles about how to improve yourself in your job, take a class online, and take advantage of any educational opportunities offered by your current employer. These are the things that we really need to do in order to keep the money rolling into the family coffers.
If you are really serious about getting a new job or even keeping your current job you will need to pay for some of that education yourself. Yes, it is nice to get reimbursed for education expenses but more and more companies are making it harder for their employees to seek a new degree or get certified in a new field. I know it is all “economics” and companies trying to improve their “bottom-line” but that is the point. They are looking out for themselves and not necessarily their employees. So, join a business social network like LinkedIn and become a part of some of the groups there in your field. Network with the people and participate in the discussions. There are lots of different groups on this website that talk about Patient Access Reps duties, new legislation, and improvements needed in the field. You can even view new job opportunities that are available now that you can apply for but most importantly you can talk to some of the people who are doing the hiring at these facilities, get to know them, what they are looking for in employees and read about some of the ways they keep themselves educated in this field.
FYI, for those of you who haven’t visited our bookstore, please check it out, we have combed through the Amazon website for books, reference material and software that is pertinent to our chosen field: http://medicalofficeclerk.info/wordpress/medical-office-clerk-bookstore/
Here is an example of just one of the reference materials available in the bookstore:
Patient Access Technology
Published March 3, 2011 | We are required to use and learn about a variety of different technologies everyday in our job. Our industry is forever changing and we are required to keep up with it. From copiers that can not only copy insurance cards but can also fax them or upload them to your computer to touch I-Pads for bedside registrations. We are also required to learn all the software that controls those machines as well. With the enactment of HITECH – Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act that is requiring medical providers to adopt health information technology and to ensure that all electronic medical information is protected and the privacy of the patient is maintained. Our industry depends on electronic transmission of claims, online verification of insurance and precertification of services and we are being tasked with identity theft protection as well (Red-Flag Rules).
One of the solutions that is coming of age is the medical smart card. The Smart Card Alliance has a website with an abundance of helpful information that explains what they are and how they work. These are general credit cards with special chips that hold information on patients and can include demographic, insurance and patient medical records. Some have pictures on the card or within the demographic info section. They can be plastic cards, fobs, subscriber identity modules (SIMs) used in GSM mobile phones, or USB-based tokens (kind of like a flash drive you put into a USB port). The Alliance even offers certification classes for those who wish to take them. Check out their website to read more at: http://www.smartcardalliance.org We have even read about a Patient Access Kiosk that will allow the patients to check themselves in for services, pay copays and updated their own demographic and insurance information! (Watch Out We May Become Obsolete)
My CHAA Journey
Published February 16, 2011 | I have finally taken the CHAA (Certified Healthcare Access Associate) exam and passed it. The test was created by the National Association of Healthcare Access Management (www.naham.org). The test required a “proctor” to administer the test. That is someone at your work that is not your immediate supervisor to pass a short quiz and to attest that the test was administered by the organization’s criteria. It is 115 multiple question test that is timed and given through the computer at their authorized website. Once we had paid for the exam we were given a link to the study guide. The guide was very helpful in taking the exam and is written in a language that is not very technical. The exam centers around a hospital operation and is not for those in a medical office.
This certification may not change or improve our work life but it always nice to have a certification on your resume. There are no other certifications our there for Patient Access/Revenue Recognition/Registration people so take advantage of this one. As soon as we meet the requirements for the CHAM – Certified Healthcare Access Management exam we will be taking that one as well.
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Educational Opportunites
Published April 8, 2010 | As we stated in the previous posting we are gathering information on educational resources for our subscribers. I read all the time and enjoy reading about a variety of different things. I was emailed a link to this article by the author, Chris Thorman, who blogs about medical billing software, and am happy to post a link to it here:
The article talks about outsourcing your billing and some of the factors you should consider when or if your practice should do it. Granted, you may not have the input into the decision of if or when to outsource your employers billing but it is a very informative article none-the-less. Remember that keeping yourself informed about every aspect of Patient Accounting is always a good thing. You never know when an article, website or newsletter information may spark an idea to help your company’s bottom line. You may even get inspired to change your current job and explore other areas in this field that might prove financially and emotionally beneficial.
If you have read an article online that might be informative and/or educational to your fellow patient access reps, medical insurance clerks, registrars, etc then please send us the link and we will be happy to write a posting about it. We would greatly appreciate it if you would send a link to our blog to your fellow employees as well. The more patient accounting people who subscribe to this blog and send in articles, links and give us educational resources the better we can do our jobs!