Access Associate Senior, Wage

About the Role

This experienced, patient-focused service representative engages patients, families, and referring providers throughout the patient care continuum via various forms of communication. The role is responsible for complex patient scheduling, including record retrieval, follow-up communication, and related tasks to ensure patients are seen by the right provider at the right time with the right records. Serves as the primary point of contact for patients, referring providers, and health system departments requesting single, multiple, and coordinated appointments to optimize the patient experience. Actively participates in issue resolution and process improvement.

Responsibilities

• Identifies opportunities for improvement and communicates proactively to prevent problems.
• Provides input on development, revision, and implementation of work area procedures to ensure efficient operations and compliance with regulatory standards.
• Evaluates processes, identifies opportunities for improvement, and offers constructive solutions; actively participates in implementation.
• Maintains privacy during all interactions, including check-in.
• Independently answers telephones, schedules and confirms appointments, and maintains appointment and procedure schedules.
• Registers patients, processes payments, and provides receipts.
• Completes requests for service and associated tasks within established timelines.
• Initiates contact with patients and families to ascertain scheduling preferences prior to finalizing appointments.
• Refers callers to appropriate individuals and provides routine information following established procedures.
• Ensures patient communications are customer-oriented, appropriate, and professional; documents are professional in appearance and current.
• Requests and/or sends records to Health Information Management promptly; ensures documents are correctly labeled.
• Abstracts appropriate health data into the Electronic Medical Record (EMR).
• Takes ownership of resolving scheduling conflicts for patients and communicates with the care team and management.
• Utilizes EMR functionality (e.g., InBasket, telephone encounters, prescription requests, pools, letters, and documentation) per department guidelines; ensures documentation is complete and accurate.
• Collaborates with the Clinic Triad team (Medical Director, Access, and Clinic Managers) to review requested schedule changes and ensure they meet clinic needs.
• Creates patient no-show and cancellation letters according to office policy; calls to reschedule as appropriate.
• Accurately completes daily attendance in the scheduling system to ensure high-quality and reliable data capture.
• Achieves expected metric targets applicable to scheduling and registration.

Scheduling

• Schedules multi-specialty and multi-disciplinary patient appointments accurately and efficiently within defined timeframes.
• Understands the characteristics and complexity of the patient population and criteria for scheduling plans.
• Advocates for patients while coordinating support services to ensure a smooth patient and family experience.
• Investigates problems with complex scheduling cases and documents findings clearly and completely.
• Coordinates appointments and works with the Pre-Arrival Unit to ensure authorization is in place for in- and out-of-network entities, including hospital systems, specialty clinics, equipment suppliers, and pharmacies.
• Obtains, loads, and verifies required demographic and insurance information for each appointment.
• Performs verification functions, consistently obtains two patient identifiers, and verifies patient legal name (including spelling) before creating a new Medical Record Number (MRN).
• Maintains and demonstrates effective and accurate scheduling skills, following established processes.
• Ensures referrals are attached to appointments and appropriate insurance information is documented; researches and updates insurance carrier requirements as necessary.
• Correctly identifies referring providers.
• Serves as a liaison with the healthcare team regarding complex patient scheduling needs.

Registration, Check-In, and Check-Out

• Completes all registration elements, including the Medicare Secondary Payor Questionnaire (MSPQ), scanning of long-term signatures (LTS) and insurance cards, Advanced Beneficiary Notices (ABNs), waivers, and financial screenings when indicated.
• Communicates to patients what payments are due at the time of service and explains the risks of "going out of network" for services; connects patients and families with Financial Services Coordinators as needed.
• Obtains waivers before service when an insurance referral has been denied.
• Prints medication lists and provides them to patients/families for review during check-in.
• Promptly and accurately updates the patient tracking system.
• Checks out patients following appointments, schedules follow-up and specialty appointments as appropriate.
• Updates, prints, and provides an after-visit summary (AVS) to patients; provides school/work excuses as appropriate.

Customer Service & Patient Experience

• Serves as a role model for ASPIRE values while maintaining and expanding patient relationships.
• Prioritizes tasks to meet customer needs and demonstrates exceptional customer service for both in-person and telephone interactions.
• Maintains a positive attitude when speaking with customers and internal/external service representatives.
• Optimizes listening skills to address customer requests and needs.
• Ensures communication with patients is in their preferred language.
• Describes individual role and accepts personal responsibility for how it affects and enhances the work of the group and its impact on Patient Experience.

Requirements

• High School Graduate or equivalent required; Associate’s degree preferred.
• 2 years of relevant experience required. Access Associate fully cross-trained to cover multiple specialties may be considered in lieu of the 2 years of relevant experience.

Physical Demands

• Prolonged periods of sitting.
• Repetitive motion (computer and mouse use).
• Proficient communicative skills across spoken and written domains.
• Adequate auditory and visual skills.
• Attention to detail and ability to write legibly and compose messages clearly and concisely.

Pay

The pay range for this role is $19.50 - $29.55 hourly. Individual compensation will be determined by the selected candidate's qualifications, previous work experience, and/or education.

About the Organization

UVA Health is a world-class Magnet Recognized academic medical center and health system with a Level 1 trauma center. The 2023-2024 U.S. News & World Report “Best Hospitals” guide rates UVA Health University Medical Center as “High Performing” in 5 adult specialties and 14 conditions/procedures. UVA Health is one of 70 National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers. UVA Health Children’s is named the best children's hospital in Virginia by the 2023-2024 U.S. News & World Report, with 9 specialties ranked among the best in the nation. The health system’s footprint encompasses 3 community hospitals and an integrated network of primary and specialty care clinics throughout Charlottesville, Culpeper, Northern Virginia, and beyond.