The everyday problem
A shared queue can look collaborative while leaving responsibility unclear. When several departments can see an item but none is accountable for its next action, age becomes the default prioritization method. Urgent work may wait alongside items that are blocked for entirely different reasons.
A practical approach
Assign responsibility for the next action, not just responsibility for the queue. Separate items that can be worked now from those awaiting information. Establish how ownership changes when a task moves between patient access, clinical staff, and the revenue team.
Try this with your team
Choose one queue and classify its oldest ten items by next action, blocker, and accountable role. Look for cases where those three answers are missing.