PAR Registration Procedures 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A patient presents for an outpatient procedure but cannot recall their insurance ID number. What is the best first step?
- Ask the patient to reschedule until they have their card
- Call the insurance company directly to verify using the patient's name and date of birth (Correct answer)
- Proceed without insurance verification
- Register the patient as self-pay without further inquiry
Correct answer: Call the insurance company directly to verify using the patient's name and date of birth
Calling the insurance company with the patient's demographics allows the PAR to verify active coverage even without the card present.
Question 2: Which document is used to assign the patient's insurance benefits directly to the healthcare provider?
- Advance Beneficiary Notice (ABN)
- Assignment of Benefits (AOB) form (Correct answer)
- Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP)
- Financial Responsibility Agreement
Correct answer: Assignment of Benefits (AOB) form
The Assignment of Benefits form authorizes the payer to send reimbursement directly to the provider rather than the patient.
Question 3: During registration, you discover the patient's address on file is two years old. What should you do?
- Leave it unchanged to avoid duplicate records
- Update the address after confirming with the patient and document the change (Correct answer)
- Flag the account for billing department review only
- Create a new medical record number for the patient
Correct answer: Update the address after confirming with the patient and document the change
Updating demographic information at each encounter ensures accurate billing and timely correspondence with the patient.
Question 4: A guarantor is best defined as:
- The patient's primary care physician
- The person financially responsible for the patient's account (Correct answer)
- The insurance company covering the patient
- The hospital's billing department representative
Correct answer: The person financially responsible for the patient's account
The guarantor is the individual responsible for paying the patient's bill, which may or may not be the patient themselves.
Question 5: When collecting a copayment during registration, which of the following is the most appropriate action?
- Collect payment only after services are rendered
- Collect the copay upfront and issue an itemized receipt (Correct answer)
- Waive the copay if the patient requests it
- Bill the copay to the insurance company instead
Correct answer: Collect the copay upfront and issue an itemized receipt
Collecting copayments at the point of service and providing a receipt is standard practice and reduces accounts receivable.
Question 6: Which of the following best describes the purpose of a pre-authorization or prior authorization?
- To verify the patient's identity before treatment
- To obtain insurer approval before providing certain services or procedures (Correct answer)
- To authorize the patient to choose any provider
- To confirm the patient's employment status
Correct answer: To obtain insurer approval before providing certain services or procedures
Prior authorization is insurer approval obtained before delivering specific services to confirm medical necessity and coverage.
Question 7: A patient declines to provide their Social Security Number during registration. The PAR should:
- Refuse to register the patient until it is provided
- Explain the reason it is requested, note the refusal in the record, and proceed with registration (Correct answer)
- Report the patient to the compliance officer
- Use a neighbor's SSN as a placeholder
Correct answer: Explain the reason it is requested, note the refusal in the record, and proceed with registration
Patients may decline to provide their SSN; the PAR should document the refusal and continue registration using available information.
PAR Registration Procedures 2
A patient presents for an outpatient procedure but cannot recall their insurance ID number.
What is the best first step?