How to Get Correct Registration Information From Patients

When working in the health care field, obtaining correct registration information from patients is of utmost importance. You must be sure that patient addresses and telephone numbers are kept current and that you are aware of the patient's insurance status. Sometimes patients arrive at the health care facility under extreme stress, in pain, or very ill. Unless there is a health emergency that makes obtaining the correct information impossible, take steps to get the correct information from the patient at the time of registration.

Instructions

• 1

  Assess the patient to determine whether he seems able to fill out the registration forms. If the patient is not in extreme pain, having a health emergency, or otherwise compromised, hand him the paperwork, and ask him to complete each form in its entirety. If he is unable to complete the forms, attempt to verbally obtain the necessary information.

• 2

  Check all of the forms that the patient hands in to be sure that they are completed. If there are sections of information missing, ask him to fill them in. If he has skipped one or two blanks, ask him the questions and record them for him.

• 3

  Make a copy of the patient's health insurance card. Verify that the information that the patient entered on his registration form matches the information on the health insurance card. If it does not, ask the patient to confirm which information is correct.

• 4

  Verify the patient's date of birth, address, telephone number (including the area code), and the spelling of his name before sending him to the waiting room. Occasionally, a patient will transpose numbers when writing or will write illegibly, causing faulty information to be entered into the computer system.

• 5

  Ask the patient to update and initial the registration forms at each subsequent visit. This will reduce or eliminate the chance that bills will be sent to the wrong insurance company or address. Even if nothing has changed from the last visit, ask the patient to initial the forms.