May 31, 2002

The contact center team for the Patient Administrative Cycle Enhancements (PACE) project has been working diligently to make recommendations for the new PACE contact center, which is one of the new enhancements for the hospitalwide patient administration project. Launched in January, the PACE project will redesign administrative processes associated with patient care, offer better technology support and provide a significant financial benefit to the hospital.

One of the main features of the project is a centralized contact center that will handle patient registration and referrals using state-of-the art computer and phone systems. According to Sally Mason Boemer, vice president of MGH Finance and one of the project sponsors, the contact center staff will have the ability to verify insurance information for patients, update demographic information, resolve any data discrepancies and ensure necessary patient referrals are in place. These functions will help reduce the burden of work on physician practice staff, streamline the billing process and make the overall patient experience easier and more pleasant.

The contact center team (pictured below) currently is working on preliminary recommendations for contact center functions, resources and interaction with hospital departments and health centers.

For more information about the PACE project, send e-mail to PACE@partners.org.