Robert Aquino Email and Phone Number

 Provide direction, to the Patient Access Division at Sherman hospital, in support of and in alignment with Hospital and system goals. Selected as Operational Team Lead for Scheduling as part of a large scale system implementation of a replacement EHR. Achieved Near 100% participation rate for the AHRQ safety and Associate Engagement surveys respectively. In 2 years move from 2 of 3 departments at tier 1 and the 3rd at tier 2 to all three at tier 1 performance. Addressed multiple issues in ED by revamping the staff schedule. Resulted in better work-life balance overall and staffing to volume trends. Achieved a 20+ point improvement in associate engagement in 1 year. Created and improved upon multiple processes that resulted in reduction in initial denials by 46% year-over-year and improved POS collections by 65% year-over-year.

 Support the Revenue Cycle and diagnostic clinical operations by managing the day-to-day operations of the Central Scheduling, Order Management, and Insurance Verification departments. Improved abandonment rates to less than 3%. Implemented an outreach program that grossed $5.2 million in charges in a fiscal year. Led an interdisciplinary team that implemented an outreach program for patients needed outpatient services post discharge from the hospital. Improved customer satisfaction to near top decile performance. Improved associate satisfaction to top decile performance. Member of various hospital committees including Diversity & Inclusion and Emergency Preparedness.

 Support the Revenue Cycle by working with Revenue Cycle Leadership to maximize their technological tools, improving processes, and exploring external solutions. Assisted in large scale projects and managed small scale projects. Assisted in a large scale implementation of an integrated eligibility, patient price estimator, eCashiering, propensity to pay, charity guide, and quality assurance tool that resulted in improved accuracy, decreased denials, and increased point of service collections. Enhanced usage of the Revenue Cycle’s ADT system through customization. Participated in several large and small scale implementations. Coordinated several small scale move projects.

 Managed registration operations for three off-site Immediate Care Centers and four off-site physical therapy locations. Managed day-to-day registration operations of three Immediate Care Centers, main hospital outpatient registration, and the Cancer Center. Managed a budget of over $1 million which includes 39 employees across 3 Access departments and 4 locations. Increased customer service scores, accuracy, and collections while decreasing cost. Implemented and became the administrator for a new software that allowed electronic processing of cash, check, and credit card payments, which resulted in a decrease in time taken to post payments and increase in collections from approximately $500,000 to $1.5 million in 2 years. Assisted in the merging of two existing physical therapy locations into 1 larger location. Resulted in 500+ appointments being transferred from the old locations to the new location with little to no negative effect on patients and no negative effects on the business operations and volumes.  Documented workflows and executed comprehensive training plan to specified audiences including Access Staff, Medical Group Staff, and Lab staff.

 Responsible for the overall operations of Inpatient Admissions, including Admitting, Insurance Verification, Transplant Services, and the Emergency Department. Developed a formal training curriculum. Implemented various process improvement measures aimed to decrease bed reservation time, improve screening process for transfer requests, and decrease time to admit.

 Managed registration operations in the Emergency, Outpatient, Insurance Verification, and Pre-Registration departments. Implemented multiple software solutions including an imaging system, eligibility system, and scheduling system. Successfully led multiple move projects for Access Services. Formalized training curriculum, documented workflows, and trained hundreds of employees over a period of six years which resulted in better quality and team member retention. Improved metrics including customer service, employee satisfaction, accuracy, productivity, and handle time in every department that I was responsible for.