Imaging & Auth Intake Status

The missing MRI problem

An orthopedic or neurology practice books a new patient, and the patient arrives without the MRI disc or report. Or the visit needed an authorization that nobody started. The visit is rescheduled, the slot is lost, and the patient leaves annoyed.

The fix is asking the right questions on the first call and putting the answers where staff will see them before the day of the visit, not at check-in.

Questions Katie asks

You choose which questions apply to which visit types. A routine follow-up does not need any of them, and asking would only slow the call down.

For a new spine or joint patient, the same few questions on every call mean your staff know before the visit whether there is anything to chase.

• Has the imaging been done, and what kind
• Where it was done, and roughly when
• Will the patient bring it, or has it been sent
• Does the plan need an authorization or referral for this visit, to the caller's knowledge
• Who ordered the study

Status, not verification

Everything Katie records is what the caller reports. She does not log in to imaging centers, call payers or confirm that an authorization exists. Those checks stay with your staff, who now start from a clear list of what the patient says is done and what is not.

Write your process so staff treat the summary as the patient's account, to be checked, rather than as confirmation. A patient saying the report was sent is a lead, not a received document.

Routing the follow-up

Each summary goes to whoever owns the missing item: the authorization specialist for a pending auth, the front desk for a disc the patient must bring, the medical records clerk for an outside report. With MedReception Autopilot, it can also be filed to the patient's eClinicalWorks chart, so the status sits with the rest of the record.

When the patient calls back to say the imaging is done, that call produces its own summary, and the trail is complete without anyone keeping a side spreadsheet.

Where the spreadsheet goes

Many practices track pending imaging and authorizations on a spreadsheet that drifts out of date within days. Call summaries do not replace your authorization workflow, but they feed it with fresh information every time a patient or office calls, which is when the status usually changes.

The practical effect is fewer surprises at check-in. Staff who see a summary saying the patient has not had imaging yet can sort it out days ahead, rather than discovering it while the patient stands at the window.