USA Health creates Care Access department to improve customer service

With a focus on helping patients and referring providers gain quicker and easier access to its clinics, USA Health has created the Care Access department.

The department will be responsible for all pre-service front-end operations at USA Health ambulatory clinics, and is expected to employ roughly 100 people initially when it becomes operational later this summer, said Shelby Smith, director of care access at USA Health. Among the duties for the department will be scheduling, registration, check-in/out, referral management, template and capacity management support, training, and data management support for all the clinical departments of USA Health which will be standardized across all clinics.

“We want to provide a consistent, coordinated and caring experience for our patients, making sure they’re continuing to get the quality care they should expect and see within USA Health. By doing this, it will give them the assurance that their healthcare needs are being met,” said Smith, who joined USA Health in February. “In short, the process will become easier through the standardization and efficiency supported by the Care Access department.”

Within the Care Access department, Smith plans to create a concierge referral team focused on guiding referring providers through the process. In addition, Care Access will house a clinical analytics team to gather data to inform leadership decisions and a training team to hone the department’s customer service skills.

Smith said that patients, providers and USA Health employees should notice significant improvements in access to clinical care in the fall.

“We want to create a memorable positive experience for all of our patients and customers, which will require a high level of accountability for how we interact with patients and one another,” he said. “Health system employees are going to see a difference when they interact with front-end Care Access team members.”