Torrance Memorial Medical Center
Transforming Access Management
The Challenges
Torrance Memorial Medical Center’s Access Management system was failing the organization. The 376-bed, full-service, nonprofit healthcare system located in Southern California was using an unreliable and disjointed system to schedule 190,000 outpatient appointments each year. Staff inefficiency resulted from a system that duplicated scheduling tasks and required constant upkeep. Patients were frustrated by long wait times; and, worst of all, referring physicians were at risk of seeking the services of Torrance’s major competitor just a mile away.
“We were draining our IT resources with calls to patch together our old system. When it went down, we couldn’t help our referring physicians who took their services down the street to our competitor,” explains Addy Rodriguez, Torrance’s Director of Patient Scheduling. “We desperately needed an integrated enterprise-wide scheduling system to handle our exponentially growing volume of patients.”
Rodriguez and her colleagues set out to find an Access Management system that could remedy the situation. A solution that could combine central scheduling with pre-admissions, drive key revenue cycle functionality to the front of the patient access process, and was able to support revenue cycle components at any point in the continuum of patient interaction. They sought a system that would reduce wait times and bottlenecks in ancillary departments, require less IT support, and offer “smart technology” search options for appointment scheduling. Additionally, the new system had to integrate with Torrance’s existing registration and key clinical information systems.
Torrance, which boasts the community’s highest recognition for quality and state-of-the-art medical services, required an Access Management system that would enhance its mission of medical excellence. “We needed to speed throughput,” says Rodriguez. “We weren’t getting patients scheduled fast enough—particularly in our radiology department.”
Making a Difference
In 2004, Torrance implemented SCI Solution’s Schedule Maximizer and has since seen dramatic results. Prior to implementation, Torrance pre-registered 57 percent of its radiology and 38 percent of its cardiology patients, largely because the admissions department could not process any more in a timely fashion. Today, pre-registration rates top 95 percent.
Bottom line stronger. These vastly improved pre-registration rates strengthen Torrance’s bottom line. Rodriguez says, “We now start the revenue cycle earlier as we pre-register our patients.” The new Access Management system integrates Medical Necessity checks at the point of scheduling, reduces the number of denials and write offs and speeds up the claims process. If a patient has Medicare, an immediate pass-or-fail rating is given. When insurance authorization is required, the system allows the scheduler to enter the authorization immediately or create an online work list for follow-up by admission staff. This ensures that all pre-registration tasks are completed before a patient arrives for an appointment.
Productivity higher. Torrance’s efficiency ratings have seen similar improvements. Repetitive data entry has been eliminated because the new system interfaces with the medical center’s Cerner radiology application and ADT Stockell registration system. Patient wait times for registration—once an hour or more—are now less than five minutes. When the patient arrives for a procedure, the system’s Encounter Module allows Torrance to collect cash, print any necessary paperwork for the patient to sign and present an ABN if necessary.
No-shows controlled. Since adopting the new Access Management system, Torrance’s no-show rate has dropped by 66 percent. The system automatically places a HIPAA-compliant reminder call, letter or email in the patient’s preferred language. In addition to the appointment date and time, the call informs the patient of any pre-procedure instructions which results in more prepared patients.
Physicians empowered. The system’s Provider Portal module allows referring physician offices to directly schedule patient procedures or review a patient’s existing schedule. This empowerment builds loyalty to Torrance and better serves the patient by providing instant scheduling of recommended procedures and tests. It also simplifies the registration process and reduces the amount of time schedulers spend on the phone.
Having a Positive Impact
In only four short years, Schedule Maximizer has impacted Torrance Medical Center by streamlining the scheduling process, increasing revenue, and strengthening patient, physician, and staff satisfaction. Rodriguez, who doesn’t consider herself a superhero, sums up the changes, “This system has transformed our entire patient Access Management capabilities— from pre-registration to revenue cycle management.”client quote:
“SCI Order Facilitator has streamlined our orders workflow, increased provider and patient satisfaction and reduced operational delays.”
Mary Godwin, Manager Centralized Scheduling
Baptist Health Care
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