Union General Hospital
Revenue Cycle Policy/Procedure
pOLICY/PROCEDURE: 09-CSH-3515-3
title: Daily Cash Drawer Process
Date Documented: 4/12/2016 Revised: n/a
Document Purpose: To describe UGH’s policy for handling the cash drawers in order to protect UGH employees and UGH assets.
Policy: In order to provide patient services that include collecting cash payments and making change for payments, UGH staff must handle cash collected, cash drawer money and the daily deposit. In order to control and account for the monies that are handled each day, Union General Hospital, Inc. requires the following:
· Cash drawers or envelopes will be provided for each registrar position and will be stocked with $100 in cash:
o During the shift, the cash drawer or envelope should have a locked area to be stored in that is accessible and secure
· Each registrar will have a cash drawer or envelope assigned specifically at the start of the shift that should remain in the cashier’s sole custody during the shift:
o The cashier will verify and record it’s content at the beginning and end of the shift following the specified procedure using the Cash Drawer Log (09-CSH-3515-4)
o If there are multiple cashiers at one location, each cashier should have a cash drawer or envelope
o The cash drawer or envelope should be locked inside a drawer at the cashiers’ desks during use and / or in a safe (in ED)
o The cashier is solely responsible for his/her own drawer or envelope and its contents; no one else should have access to the drawer during his/her shift
o If cash drawer responsibility is transferred during the day, the first cashier should “balance out” and the second cashier should re-count the drawer or envelope, both following the process described below
· At the close of the day, a specific procedure should be followed to balance the receipts, and in addition:
o The cash balance in the drawer or envelope, after the collected payments are removed, should always equal $100, (or in certain circumstances whatever the balance recorded at the beginning of the shift)
o Any overage or shortage must be reported to the manager immediately
Responsible Party: Specific UGH site employees providing the registration function which include cash collection, supervisors, directors, and administration
General Statements:
· Every payment accepted should have two receipts printed, one given to the patient and one kept with your cash drawer
· Do not make change, or give cash back for patient checks—take entire check and the patient will be sent a refund
· Do not accept private third-party checks—only those originated from a patient and signed directly to the hospital
· At the end of the shift or specified time:
o You will remove the receipts and corresponding payments and prepare them in stacks
o Then, you must reconcile your cash drawer or envelope after removing the payments
· For separation of duties, it is important that the “cashier” is not the “charge poster”
Upon Arrival to Work: Prepare Drawer
1. Retrieve cash drawer or envelope from the safe
2. Verify the contents:
o Count the cash with witness present
o Record the contents of the drawer with denominations of the cash balances on the Cash Drawer Log (09-CSH-3515-4)
o Both cashier and witness initial the Cash Drawer Log
3. Notify manager if there is any discrepancy from the last recorded ending balance
At Patient Arrival: Collect and Secure Cash
1. Collect: Patient will be present to cashier station/payment counter by receptionist before the appointment:
o Insurance
§ Collect co-pay if applicable for the day’s services, as verified in Paragon (eligibility response)
o Self-Pay
§ Collect $100 deposit
§ If unable to collect specified deposit, follow scripting and collect largest amount possible
o Secure any payment collected
2. Post: Following the process outlined in the Point of Service Collections (09-CSH-1300-3) post any amount collected to the patient’s account immediately (to Paragon for cash, checks, and money orders. In Web Pay for credit cards)
3. Create a receipt for the patient and a copy for your cash drawer
4. If receiving a check, verify the dollar amount and the signature, then stamp with the UGH deposit stamp immediately
5. Place the collected cash, check or credit card receipt in your locked cash drawer. If in the ED, place funds into envelope and secure in the safe
At End of shift or at specified time: Reconcile and Balance:
Perform End of Shift Processes
1. Reconcile the payments received:
o Balance the credit card payments in WebPay
o Total the receipt copies from your drawer
§ Using a calculator, run tapes for credit card, check and cash collections
§ Mark tapes for type of payment
o Remove the cash and checks collected from patients and total with calculator tape (date and clip to currency)
o Place money with tapes, receipts with tape and credit card receipts with tape in an envelope marked PAYMENTS and marked with current date
2. Complete daily balancing packet:
o Manually total payment receipts, and write total on the UGH Daily Deposit Form (CSH-3550-4) for each payment method
o Print credit card transaction report
o Record credit card transaction total on the UGH Daily Deposit Form (CSH-3550-4)
o Staple all receipts, batch report, Paragon and Web Pay reconciliation sheets, and UGH Daily Deposit Form (09-CSH-3550-4) together.
o Prepare deposit envelope and include stapled paperwork
o Return deposit envelope to the business office (Rachel Dyer)
o General statements:
§ Deposit packet should be turned in by 2pm (weekdays), for first shift and previous days’ shifts.
§ Weekend shift packets should be stored in the safe until clerk can pick up on Monday morning.
§ Batch summaries and deposit schedules are as follows:
· Weekdays
o 1st shift – 2 batches. Shift start with today’s date and subsequent to 2pm, tomorrow’s date. Deposit packet created for batch 1 returned to Rachel Dyer. Batch 2 deposit packet stored in safe for morning clerk pickup.
o 2nd shift -1 batch, current date. Store packet in safe for clerk pickup in morning.
o 3rd shift -1 batch, ending shift date. Store packet in safe for clerk pickup in morning.
· Weekends
o 1st shift – 1 batch, current date. Store packet in safe for clerk pickup on Monday
o 2nd shift – 1 batch, current date. Store packet in safe for clerk pickup on Monday
o 3rd shift – 1 batch, ending shift date. Store packet in safe for clerk pickup on Monday
§ Reconcile cash drawer on the following schedule:
· Beginning of shift
· End of shift
· After creating new batch and balancing previous (1st shift, weekdays)
3. Reconcile cash drawer:
o Count the cash that remains in the drawer in front of a witness
o If the balance does not equal the starting balance from the day, you must work to find the error
o If unable to find error, notify the manager immediately of the issue
o Record the remaining cash drawer balance on the UGH Cash Drawer Log
o Both cashier and witness must initial the Cash Drawer Log
4. In the case where there is an overage or shortage when reconciling the drawer:
o Send the Business Office a copy of the Cash Drawer Log signed off by the manager showing the amount over or short.
o OVERAGE
§ Include money in the daily deposit packet with a note indicating overage
o SHORTAGE:
§ Immediately see manager for instructions and replenishment of the missing funds
5. Secure the cash drawer and collections:
o Place the payment envelop along with the Cash Drawer Log in the safe
o Place the cash drawer in the safe
o Lock safe
pOLICY/PROCEDURE: 09-CSH-3515-3
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