On Friday April 7th, GRH will recognize our patient registration professionals across our hospital’s campuses.
Every year, the patient registration department will register, admit and check-in upwards of 400,000 patients. More than 30 locations register patients and nearly 300 staff members perform registration functions as part of their daily job.
Patient registration information flows to all other systems and aspects of patient care. So it is essential that the demographic information collected is accurate and complete at the time of initial registration.
The main goal of patient registration is to properly identify the patient and link them with any previous encounter with GRH. This ensures that the patient has a unique and continuous medical record to relay important past health history to the clinical team.
Information gathered at registration not only flows to our clinical team but to administrative departments and programs as well. Patient personal health information is linked directly to reporting, case costing, reimbursement and funding and more for the entire organization. This information also travels to referring providers, family physicians and other community providers in the circle of care.
The role of patient registration has changed over the years as the health care system becomes more complex. Registration staff members not only complete the registration, check-in, admission, discharge and transfers of our patients, they also input orders, direct patients, perform numerous clerical duties and review medical history.
More recently, registration staff complete virtual or pre-registrations, reconcile addresses and residences for reporting purposes, protect patient privacy, and determine isolation status through past hospital admissions. As always, the patient experience starts with registration and customer service is an integral piece.
Patient registration is the first point of contact for most patients accessing services at Grand River Hospital. Understanding the need for efficiency, accuracy, customer service and improved patient experience and the subsequent flow of data allows every GRH employee to appreciate the essential role patient registration staff plays in advancing exceptional care.
A key tip for patients...
The most important piece you can bring to Grand River is your Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) card. The health care number issued on your OHIP card is unique to you. It helps us identify you within our system and link to any previous health history we may have.
If you do not have an OHIP card or temporary OHIP card, the next best item is a government issued photo ID so we can search our database with correct spelling of names and unique identifying features such as birth date, address and more.