CHAM study plan

Map the full patient access workflow from scheduling through point-of-service collection, and label where each step touches registration, insurance verification, and authorization.

Define the core access vocabulary (eligibility verification, prior authorization, referral, pre-registration, POS collection, patient financial responsibility) in your own words with one concrete example each.

Explain how front-end access errors propagate downstream into denials, rework, and bad debt, using at least three cause-and-effect chains.

Build a one-page reference of the data elements captured at registration and why each element affects downstream billing accuracy.

Compare scheduling and pre-registration practices that reduce no-shows and same-day cancellations, and justify which levers you would prioritize.

Outline an insurance verification and eligibility workflow, including timing rules, escalation paths, and what to do when verification fails at the point of service.

Describe prior authorization and referral management steps, including how to track pending authorizations and prevent service-before-auth losses.

Draft a scripted patient financial counseling conversation covering estimates, payment options, and collection of point-of-service amounts.

Trace the revenue cycle end to end and identify the handoffs between front-end access, mid-cycle coding and charge capture, and back-end claims and collections.

Explain charge capture and charge description master concepts well enough to describe how missed or late charges create revenue leakage.

Describe the claim lifecycle from scrub through submission, acceptance, and adjudication, including common front-end edits.

Define key revenue cycle metrics (clean claim rate, days in accounts receivable, denial rate, net collection rate) and state what each one diagnoses.

Categorize denials by root cause (registration, eligibility, authorization, coding, medical necessity, timely filing) and match each category to a prevention owner.

Build a denial management and appeal workflow, including prioritization logic, appeal deadlines, and documentation needed to overturn a denial.

Summarize the major healthcare fraud and abuse laws (False Claims Act, Anti-Kickback Statute, Stark Law, Civil Monetary Penalties) and what each prohibits in revenue cycle conduct.

Identify the compliance risk points in billing operations, such as upcoding, unbundling, and billing for services not rendered, and explain why each is a violation.

Explain payer and program rules that shape billing conduct, including Medicare and Medicaid coverage conditions, medical necessity, and advance beneficiary notice concepts.

Describe the purpose and scope of a compliance program using the seven elements framework, and state how each element applies to a revenue cycle team.

Outline HIPAA privacy and security obligations relevant to patient access and billing staff, including minimum necessary use and breach response basics.

Design a routine internal audit approach for coding and billing, including sample selection, documentation review, and corrective action follow-up.

Compare leadership styles and select the approach you would use to drive a denial-reduction initiative, justifying the choice with team dynamics.

Draft a staffing and productivity plan for a patient access or billing unit, including volume assumptions, workload standards, and coverage for peak periods.

Explain how to build and read an operational dashboard, choosing metrics that connect staff activity to financial and compliance outcomes.

Outline a change management plan for adopting a new workflow or system, including communication, training, and resistance handling.

Integrate access, revenue cycle, and leadership content by diagnosing a realistic scenario where registration errors drive denials and designing a cross-functional fix.

Practice applying metrics to decisions by interpreting a set of performance indicators and recommending two corrective actions with owners and timelines.

Rehearse explaining a compliance-sensitive billing issue to a non-financial audience in plain language.

Complete a timed mixed-domain practice set and categorize every missed question by domain and error type.

Review the error log and close the three weakest sub-topics with targeted re-study and self-quizzing.

Recite from memory the key formulas, deadlines, and regulatory definitions you have collected across all four domains.

Complete two timed full-length practice exams and compare scores to identify remaining gaps.

Finalize a one-page exam-day reference sheet of high-yield facts and decision rules.