Recommendation: Management should continue to provide training and education to front desk staff related to the process for collecting family size and income information, along with inputting it into the electronic medical records. We also recommend enhancing any current internal audits of patient v...
Recommendation: Management should continue to provide training and education to front desk staff related to the process for collecting family size and income information, along with inputting it into the electronic medical records. We also recommend enhancing any current internal audits of patient visits to determine all required patient information has been obtained in accordance with TCA’s policies.
Explanation of disagreement with audit finding: There is no disagreement with the audit finding.
Action planned in response to finding: TCA Health has addressed the Special Provisions weakness by coaching and training front desk staff members. Specifically, staff were trained in the approved sliding fee scale policy and its requirements. Worked with third-party billing company, and Athena to roll back the EMR update which contributed to ineffective application of the sliding fee in November 2023. TCA hired a full-time Patient Services Manager in 2024 to support ongoing staff training, quality assurance monitoring, and implementation of the updated EMR and registration workflows. Staff have become proficient in the collection of data from patients, properly storing and recording it in the EMR, and the calculation of the slide according to the Federal Poverty Guidelines. Lastly, the team will be updated on the latest EMR module that experienced an upgrade and taught how to effectively apply the slide. Additionally, TCA began to undergo internal audits of records ensuring that proper documentation is maintained and a patient service manager, utilizing testing template provided by the organization’s auditor.
Name(s) of the contact person(s) responsible for corrective action: Samantha Oliver Mitchell, Chief Operating Officer
Planned completion date for corrective action plan: June 2025