Registering Patients / Accepting Payments

[pyroknight, RN]

Anyone been tasked with providing patients with a tablet to register themselves and assist with getting their payment? A LOT of things fall under "other job duties as assigned," but I am thinking I draw the line somewhere on this side of patient registration. I am already my own ECG tech, phlebotomist, and RT, now it's my job to confirm their insurance information and make sure they pay their copay? I have something for admin to suck on and I don't think they're going to like it.

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

I agree, that's beyond the reasonable, that's ridiculous 

[Guest219794]

First- yes, it is ridiculous.

But, more important, it conflicts with some basic principles.  ER registration is a 2 stage process.  Care is initiated before payment details are obtained.
Having clinical staff involved in payment opens the door for claims that treatment is based on payment.

Nurses should not be involved in billing.  It is simply bad practice.

 

[JKL33]

This is wacko.

Also why hospitals suck. Geez.

I worked for one terrible place where there was a specialty obs unit that was part of the ED. They wanted to surreptitiously admit patients to that obs unit so they could be billed for obs care. They directed the nurses to be the ones to present observation paperwork and have it signed (you know the disclosures etc about how 'you are being admitted under observation status...your insurance may not cover this...'). They played it off as nurses should basically just tell the patient that this was another one of the papers that needed to be signed for their care. When the staff expressed concerns that this interaction might be better left to registration staff more accustomed to dealing with patients' insurance questions we were told point blank that we don't have to worry about any of that because it's on patients to read the fine print and understand what it means and if they have questions it's their responsibility to contact their insurance company.

As if they are freaking going to get a quick answer about ANYTHING at 0200 while they're trying to make this kind of decision.

Just one of the ways big corporations screw patients as part of their basic business practices.

I'm not sure what my tactical approach would be, OP, but I agree I would not get involved in this. For a few different reasons.

 

[JKL33]

Oh, and as far as this profession is concerned, there should be a front row seat in How Not to Be a Sellout 101 class for any nurses in administration who let stuff like this get enough momentum to actually make it into practice.