The National Association of Healthcare Access Management (NAHAM) was founded in 1974 and its mandate is to:

• establish best practices and subject matter expertise;
• provide an array of networking, education, and certification opportunities; and
• enable its members to influence and promote high quality delivery of Patient Access Services. (Source: www.naham.org )

Basically, if you are involved directly or indirectly with any of these areas ~ scheduling, admissions, registration, patient finance, guest relations ~ in any kind of healthcare setting, NAHAM is your go-to resource.

There are six regions in NAHAM. The NAHAM Northeast regional conference was held on October 24 and 25, 2011 in Stamford, Connecticut. After the conference, we spoke with Catherine M. Pallozzi, CHAM, CCS, the NAHAM Regional Northeast Delegate and Executive Delegate. Ms Pallozzi is also the Albany Medical Center Hospital Director of Patient Access.

Biggest Challenge for Healthcare Access Professionals

From manager to staff, members at the Northeast Regional NAHAM Conference identified recruitment, retention and training as their biggest challenge.

Although often considered “just” an entry level position, jobs in healthcare access can be a rewarding career with promotion opportunities. Engaged staff and management take pride in their work and accomplishments. Certified professionals, whether in patient access or other professions, can take pride in knowing that they are meeting and maintaining their credentials.

The Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation in Memphis, Tennessee noted the benefits of credentialed staff to its hospitals as not only improving the skills and knowledge of staff, but helping with the “professional image of staff”. (Source: CertAlert Spring 2011 )

NAHAM offers Certified Healthcare Access Manager (CHAM) and the Certified Healthcare Access Associate (CHAA) programs “… to promote the highest standards of patient access services through the credentialing of those working in patient access services at both the front line and manager and above levels.” (Source: Candidate Guide to Certification )

On October 14, 2011, NAHAM announced that a new training manual for orienting and onboarding Healthcare Access Associates is available, which is helpful in meeting the challenge of training new staff.

Message to Patient Access Professionals North of the 49th Parallel

NAHAM Northeast welcomes the opportunity to bridge the access gap for Canadian partners. Although the insurance and payer processes may be different, there are more similarities than differences between the challenges for Canadian and American patient access professionals.

For instance, the challenges of recruiting bilingual staff and offering services in multiple languages for multicultural citizens and visitors is common north and south of the border, as are the goals of excellent customer service and patient satisfaction while staying within budget. There is a great opportunity here to learn from each other.

NAHAM is in the process of enhancing their website for Canada to better access the benefits of membership and the elearning certification programs for Certified Healthcare Access Managers and Certified Healthcare Access Associates.

The NAHAM 38th Annual Conference and Exposition will take place May 8 – 11, 2012 in San Diego, California ~ the theme “Patient Access: The Helm of the Revenue Cycle”.

Patient engagement is a driving force in healthcare in North America. Questions are the Answer is an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) initiative to improve healthcare by empowering patients to know what to do and the questions to ask before, during and after a medical appointment ~ an excellent resource for patients. On September 22, 2011 the Health Council of Canada (HCoC) released How Engaged are Canadians in their Primary Care?. John G. Abbott, CEO of the HCoC, notes that “Patients are more likely to feel engaged if they believe that their time has not been wasted; if they have access to their primary care providers and understand the information being provided to them.” The following five questions are not the answer and demonstrate how patients can feel that their time and healthcare provider resources are being wasted.

Photo credit: Hospital Basement by Per Olesen

Fans* of CBS’s The Big Bang Theory will recognize “homunculus” as the 6’2” Sheldon Cooper refers to his friend, the “perfectly formed miniature human being” Dr. Leonard Hofstadter. The 16-bed Deep River & District Hospital is the “homunculus” of hospitals ~ small, but perfectly formed to meet the needs of its patients and to pilot the PatientWay ER Registration Kiosk.

“Buy it – or partner to get it”, says Larry Schruder, CEO, Deep River & District Hospital (DRDH). “It doesn’t matter as long as we continue to obtain the best technology and processes for our hospital.”