Editor?s note: This is the first in a series of articles on the Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) Questionnaire.

Some patient access teams simply do not associate with patient financial services if they do not have to.

Perhaps one word best described Skagit Valley Hospital's customer service in its patient access department a few years ago: poor.

Editor's note: Catherine M. Pallozzi, CHAM, CCS, director of patient access at Albany (NY) Medical Center and an advisory board member of Patient Access Advisor, provided this tip.

The revenue cycle is interesting. Just when you have the team geared up and on its way, the fourth quarter of the year is upon you.  

I find that taking inventory of goals and objectives and ensuring a careful review of all key performance indicators helps in the close of the year-end book. Your team works hard all year long only to lose steam in the closing months. Here's what you can do to help:

• Be sure to review your overall quality as well as individual quality indicators. Review specifically for trends and ensure that any necessary remediation is completed.

Now that your facility may be using the new Advance Beneficary Notice (ABN) of Noncoverage form, which becomes mandatory March 1, 2009, and is also known as the ABN-R-131, it is a good time to answer some of your questions.

Accidents can introduce a payer or payers primary to Medicare. The accident portion of any Medicare Questionnaire has proven difficult for all entities required to register Medicare patients. The attached "Accident Details" form is not required by CMS, nor does CMS have a current version of a form with this intent. This is a form designed to capture additional information, beyond a compliant questionnaire, that has been helpful in securing accident-related payer information for Medicare patients.

Adapt this scripting tool used by Skagit Valley Hospital patient access team for customer-service training.