As a LEAN organization, AllMed believes in the process of continuous improvement. Training new peers is one of the most important aspects of producing quality reviews.
At AllMed, our peer reviewers are our most valuable asset. Since my arrival five months ago, I have been impressed with our peer dedication to quality, turnaround times and professionalism to create the best reviews for the patients we serve. In this regard, we are truly fortunate at AllMed and I am proud to be working alongside the peers and our incredible team to provide the highest quality reviews possible.
Training our new peers is one of the most important aspects of producing quality reviews, allowing us to give critical feedback prior to releasing them to active status. Prior to joining, most of our peers are practicing clinicians who are able to synthesize and summarize clinical information from the patient record. Oftentimes, it is the application of medical policy and plan language in conjunction with the patient record that requires training to produce the highest quality reviews; for many of our peers this is a new skill. We also value the peers’ time and if the training process is successful, our peers can spend the minimum amount of time possible to arrive at their determination. This also allows us to set expectations of what constitutes a high quality, evidence-based review.
This past May, we held an event to overhaul the “current state” of training and improve the process moving forward. Utilizing advanced WebEx technologies, our experienced internal staff, Dr. Eric Diamond and Peer Development Manager, Jessica McBurney RN, provide extensive training on case review and industry standards, and give detailed feedback on a minimum of three cases. Providing job aids in addition to the tools inherent in our PeerPoint portal is a vital part of getting our peers up to speed quickly.
Training and onboarding panel members is just the beginning, as AllMed launches the new Peer Value Stream (PVS); an opportunity to assess, measure, observe and communicate effectively and efficiently with our peers.
Bottom line: AllMed is dedicated to our peer reviewers, and it starts with providing the best training experience possible.