Employees Are Hospitals' Greatest Commodity in Patient Access

Cathy Pallozzi, CHAM, patient access director at Albany Medical, says, "Our employees are our greatest commodity. A little time spent up front, saves a whole lot of time later."

She says Albany uses the "Studer" concept of "rounding with purpose."

The leadership team gathers with staff members to ask five standard questions about how they feel about their jobs.

Two examples are:

• Did they have everything they needed to do their job?


• Is there anyone that should be recognized?

"While the social aspect of 'how was your weekend' is important, these questions provided a focus to the operations and gave the employee an opportunity to provide their feedback in a very informal manner," Pallozzi says.