”To be a successful organization, you need to be around successful people and give them the tools and opportunities to grow,” said Lisa Laudeman, CRCE-I, CRCE-P, Patients Accounts Manager. ”These certifications take our team and the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute to the next level. The team comes out of it with a well-rounded idea of the best practices used at the nation’s leading hospitals.”
Patient Financial Services includes customer service, billing, follow up, eligibility, and benefits – anything related to the revenue cycle. The staff needs to know collection law and compliance rules, as well as the technical side of their positions.
Nationally Recognized Accreditation
The team is getting their accreditations from the American Association of Healthcare Administrative Management (AAHAM). The American Association of Healthcare Administrative Management (AAHAM) is the premier professional organization in healthcare administrative management, and the only organization dedicated exclusively to the revenue cycle.
”This rigorous accreditation process enables us to do billing more proficiently – accuracy increases and claims are paid properly. And we’re better able to help patients when they call,” explained Laudeman.
Rigorous Process Prepares Team for Almost Anything
Even after they leave the hospital, patients may get EOBs in the mail that they don’t understand, or they may have questions about their benefits. With this added training, the team is ready to help.
”Sometimes because of the extra level of training, we can resolve problems before the patient sees them – so their experience continues to be positive,” Laudeman noted.
AAHAM offers three levels of certification – executive, professional and technical. Currently the entire team is going through the process – which includes a lot of studying and a passing score on the accreditation test. The department’s goal to have everyone accredited by 2020. The accreditation is for three years, which helps the team stay abreast of the latest developments and services.
”It’s a lot of work to earn the accreditation, but it is important for our patients that we be as knowledgeable and helpful as we can be,” said Laudeman.
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• The AAHAM Certified Revenue Cycle Executive – This is for senior leader level positions.
• The AAHAM Certified Revenue Cycle Professional – This is specifically for supervisors and first-time managers to help them understand the processes, but it also has technical component so they need to know what their staff does.
• The AAHAM Certified Revenue Cycle Specialist – This staff level accreditation is much more detail oriented, focused day-to-day process and they must know including federal regulations and fundamental concepts.
The accreditations come with an Institutional tag (for hospital billing and collections) or Professional tag (for everybody else like doctors’ offices, labs, etc.)
”Sometimes because of the extra level of training, we can resolve problems before the patient sees them – so their experience continues to be positive.”
— Lisa Laudeman, CRCE-I, CRCE-P, Patients Accounts Manager