To: All Employees

From: Dr. Kenerly & Dr. Valosen

As you are all aware, we are doing a lot of work in regards to revenue cycle as it relates to the overall health of our business.  We have made great improvements in our time of service collections, and believe the below initiatives dovetail into these efforts to ensure we are being fiscally responsible as a company. 

All below directives are effective immediately.

1. ALL APPOINTMENTS will be scheduled via the phone room.  There will be no exceptions.  If a patient needs to be seen, they are to be directed to call the office number and get an appointment.   If there are special situations that require attention (acuity/specific provider/friends/family/employees), please direct your inquiry to Nancy Freeman, and she will help navigate any special situations that you may encounter.

2. No walk-in appointments will be scheduled at the front desk.  If a patient walks in and needs an appointment, they will be instructed to call the office number, and the phone room will take care of them.  Once they are on the schedule, then the front desk may check them in per usual.  Patients will no longer be instructed to “show up at 8am at the front desk”.  Shelley Patterson has created “walk-in” cards for these patients that will instruct them on how to make an appointment (call office, have insurance information available, etc).

3. When a patient needs a follow up appointment from the ER, the on-call physician will tell them:  “Please have the patient call our office at (912) 427-0800.  We will attempt to schedule the patient accordingly”.  Every patient will be given a chance to be seen, but will need to comply with their financial responsibilities.  In order to do that, the phone room needs to speak with the patient first, so that insurance instructions and/or self-pay policy info can be relayed.  Shelley has created information cards for the ER’s to give to the patients that reflect our current narratives (call office, have insurance information available, etc).  Nancy and Amanda will also be notified by the on-call provider about specific patients that will be calling the office for appointments that day, based on what was handled on call the night prior (this will obviously not encompass all patients seen in ER’s, but only what the provider is aware of).

4. Once a self-pay patient has initiated care (office visit/x-ray), and medical decisions are being made in the office, a decision for surgery may need to be made.  If an emergent/semi-emergent  surgery is recommended, make Nancy aware and she can initiate the surgery self-pay policy (currently being updated).  Very little financial discussion should be had in the exam rooms.  All patients will need to make financial arrangements through our business office, and they will handle these situations. 

Our intention is to make a complicated situation easier through these changes.  All changes are effective immediately and will be strictly enforced.  Should you have any questions, please contact your department supervisor.  Thanks for all that each of you do for BJISG and our patients.