In the last HFM magazine, I saw a very insightful article on why hospital registration clerks need to build relationships with patients.

I think we all already know the benefit for doctors and nurses that establish relationships - more job satisfaction and less lawsuits.

This article takes that a step further to the registration clerk. Why does s/he have to be all friendly, especially to self-pay patients? This isn't about being chummy, but about truly understanding the patient's financial situation. This results in better classification of the patient (bed debt vs. charity care) and sometimes this leads to discovery that the patient is eligible for Medicaid or SCHIP.

As CDHP is on the rise and as hospitals continue to focus on the front end of the revenue cycle, this could be the end of the $9/hour registration clerk. This front-line employee will have more sophistication around revenue cycle, customer service, and even financial planning?