On September 13th, Deborah will serve on the panel “Practical Uses of Telemedicine and Remote Care” at Becker’s Annual Health IT + Revenue Cycle Conference. As part of an ongoing series, Becker’s is talking to healthcare leaders who plan to speak at the conference, which will take place on September 13-15, 2021 in Chicago.
To learn more about the conference and Deborah’s session, click here.
Question: How has the coronavirus pandemic forced a paradigm shift in your line of work, from your
perspective?
Deborah Chasco: The Coronavirus pandemic has forced a paradigm shift in Nursing Informatics that will leave an imprint on how we communicate digitally with health care teams and patients with more “caring and compassion” in the digital world. How can “caring and compassion” be displayed digitally?
When we meet internally, our meetings are shorter and have more meaning. Many of my team members and co-workers are working from home. They are spending more time with their families at home while continuing to work. It allows for the human touch to reach us when we hear the dog barking, the baby crying or the significant other talking in the background or actually seeing a family member running behind the video if the meeting is videotaped.
Although someone will inevitably place the members on ‘mute’, the priceless lesson learned is that we are all part of a universe that will continue to thrive even during such a difficult time. It gives us hope. As for patients and their encounter with healthcare technology, the perks are in not having to wait in a crowded waiting room with access to care via a telephone call or video call making it more convenient. I have had patients ask if this type of service will continue even after the restrictions are lifted. I have thought about what I can offer during this sensitive time to others digitally. I can offer free painting lessons on weekends for those who would like to learn to paint, or free percussion lessons for those who are interested in music. Creating digital websites that can entertain and allow us to stop, pause, and share a bit of ourselves with others while sharing empathy and compassion.
Q: What is the most underrated trait of the best leaders?
DC: Being mission-focused while thinking broadly or globally is the most underrated trait of best leaders. Keeping focused on the mission gains positive momentum through the inevitable daily leadership rollercoaster phenomena. What is the rollercoaster phenomena? Reaching for the 100% accomplished goal and sustaining it at 100% may be the goal, but is it the true mission and vision when we look at the broader, bigger picture? The value is in the synthesis of knowledge outside of the norm and the usual. It is researching the unknown and reaching for new and innovative ways to work through challenges collaboratively to sustain teamwork and relationships that will eventually lead toward success.
Q: What is one bold goal that you, your team or your organization is staring down for 2021?
DC: The ability to effectively combine, and use operational data and knowledge resources, data sets, databases to leverage health policy and funding with the ability to provide a competitive advantage for decision-making to improve health care is a bold goal for our team in 2021.
Enabling data-driven scientific discovery, informing health policies and funding decisions, and improving business operations while developing a departmental plan while balancing costs, meeting organizational needs, supporting innovation with the development of an innovative center within Nursing Informatics is a bold goal for 2021. Keeping up with the rapid pace in data and knowledge generation in a safety-net public hospital will be challenging but will also prove exciting for the team.
Q: What fundamentals would you encourage your peers to revisit and refine when it comes to health IT and revenue cycle management?
PC: In reviewing basic fundamentals in health IT and revenue cycle management, creating a checklist to address the following processes daily with real-time data can serve for an effective and efficient revenue cycle program as governmental requirements continue to change and impact revenue in health care. It is important to look at best practice principles to keep a healthy revenue cycle management program thriving. Areas that can cause delays, leakage, and worry for health IT and Revenue Cycle programs include denials, underpaid claims, registration coding or billing errors, no referrals, changes in insurance that may go unverified, scheduling delays, utilization review, and AR follow-up delays. The checklist is not all-inclusive but can be refined based on organizational change. Keeping a pulse on data daily and working each patient account by individualizing each entry to tell the patient’s story from entry to their health care experience to beyond the hospital walls will establish great fundamentals in collaboration to improve revenue and improve care for patients. At UMC El Paso, we have implemented a “STREAM TEAM” where multidisciplinary team members work together to address any issues or errors upfront to avoid challenges downstream. Nursing informatics tells the patient’s story and team members to include registration, fiscal, case management, nursing informatics work through each encounter to decrease delays, errors, and improve processes.
