PAR Scheduling and Pre-Arrival Coordination 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: During appointment scheduling, a patient discloses they do not have transportation to the clinic. The PAR's best response is to:
- Tell the patient to arrange their own ride
- Inform the patient of available transportation assistance programs or community resources (Correct answer)
- Cancel the appointment until the patient can arrange transport
- Schedule a telehealth visit without clinical approval
Correct answer: Inform the patient of available transportation assistance programs or community resources
PARs should connect patients with transportation assistance programs to reduce social barriers to care and prevent no-shows.
Question 2: A PAR discovers a scheduling conflict where two patients are booked in the same room at the same time. The immediate action should be to:
- Wait to see which patient arrives first
- Notify the supervisor and reschedule one patient with appropriate notice (Correct answer)
- Cancel both appointments and have patients call back
- Move one patient to a different provider without consent
Correct answer: Notify the supervisor and reschedule one patient with appropriate notice
Double-booking an exam room must be resolved proactively by notifying leadership and contacting one patient to reschedule with proper notice.
Question 3: Which of the following is an example of an open-access scheduling model?
- Patients book appointments three months in advance
- A set number of slots are held each day for same-day or next-day appointments (Correct answer)
- All appointments require a referral before booking
- Providers see patients only by appointment made through a specialist
Correct answer: A set number of slots are held each day for same-day or next-day appointments
Open-access scheduling reserves daily slots to accommodate urgent or same-day needs, improving access and reducing wait times.
Question 4: A patient calls to reschedule a pre-operative appointment. The PAR should first:
- Cancel the surgery as well since prep is not complete
- Verify how much lead time is needed before surgery before confirming a new date (Correct answer)
- Reschedule for the next available slot regardless of surgery date
- Refer the patient to a different provider
Correct answer: Verify how much lead time is needed before surgery before confirming a new date
Pre-operative appointments must occur within a specific window before surgery; the PAR must confirm clinical timelines before rebooking.
Question 5: When confirming a patient's appointment, the PAR should verify all of the following EXCEPT:
- Date, time, and location of the appointment
- Preparation instructions the patient received
- The provider's personal home address (Correct answer)
- Insurance information and any required referrals
Correct answer: The provider's personal home address
The provider's personal home address is private information irrelevant to appointment confirmation.
Question 6: A patient calls saying they are running 20 minutes late for their appointment. The PAR should:
- Automatically cancel the appointment
- Check with clinical staff regarding the facility's late-arrival policy and communicate options to the patient (Correct answer)
- Tell the patient to come anyway without informing the care team
- Reschedule without asking if the patient can still make it
Correct answer: Check with clinical staff regarding the facility's late-arrival policy and communicate options to the patient
Late-arrival policies vary by facility and appointment type; the PAR must apply the correct policy and inform the patient of their options.
Question 7: The term 'prior authorization' in the context of scheduling means:
- The patient has pre-paid for the service
- The insurance company has approved the service before it is rendered (Correct answer)
- The provider has cleared the patient for the procedure clinically
- The referral has been entered in the EMR
Correct answer: The insurance company has approved the service before it is rendered
Prior authorization is approval from the payer obtained before a service is provided to ensure coverage and reimbursement.
PAR Scheduling and Pre-Arrival Coordination 3
During appointment scheduling, a patient discloses they do not have transportation to the clinic.
The PAR's best response is to: