Properly Discussing Coverage For Emergency Room Patients

It is no secret at all that no matter what the times are like in this country financially, there are still patients who do not have proper insurance coverage, and often times not even the means to pay for their medical bills should an emergency situation arise. The first priority should always be the well being of the patient in any type of an emergency medical situation. After all, caretakers are in the medical profession to help cure people and to save lives. However, there does come a time when you do have to inquire about how certain medical fees will be paid whether it be from an insurance carrier or out of pocket.

If you have a patient who is in desperate need of medical attention, you should do everything possible at first to ensure that they are stable. Then, after the patient seems to be out of immediate danger, there is no reason why you cannot talk about advance beneficiary notices. Never under any circumstances should such advance beneficiary notices or other payment topics be discussed while any patient seems to be under duress before they are stabilized.

Basically, you have to be careful that any of your questions regarding health insurance coverage or payments do not interfere at all with the patient having a delay in treatment. Such a conversation could bring about a situation where the patient will end up leaving the hospital before they are treated because they feel that they are being badgered about payments.

View all Articles by: Melissa Clark, CCS-P