Access Specialist

Acts as the first welcome at MedStar National Rehabilitation Network for callers on behalf of outpatient therapy practices, instilling loyalty and anticipating needs while providing efficient, effective customer relationship management.

Responsibilities

• Promptly answers assigned extensions using the correct salutation and follows script.
• Greets and assists patients on the telephone by triaging patient inquiries and concerns to appropriate clinical and non-clinical team members.
• Completes the preliminary intake efficiently, accurately, and completely; performs patient updates, scanning, registration, patient scheduling of initial and follow-up appointments based on insurance guidelines, and messaging in the department's practice management (PM) system, electronic health record (EHR), or electronic medical record (EMR) depending on department/site.
• Demonstrates ability to use various MedStar Health business applications as required to assist with callers' needs.
• Performs insurance verification to ensure accuracy of clean claim(s) submission.
• Acts as insurance liaison, including accurate verifications, precise case management, validation and proactive completion of authorizations, and retrieval of denials.
• Communicates duplicate or multiple medical record accounts to appropriate medical records personnel for merging.
• Helps resolve conflict with effective verbal and written communication in an appropriate manner.
• Directs, guides, and mentors associates to carry out tasks created by administrative leadership.
• Demonstrates teamwork while encouraging open and direct communication with others in a positive manner.
• Contributes to the achievement of established department goals and objectives and adheres to department policies, procedures, quality standards, and safety standards. Complies with governmental and accreditation regulations.
• Demonstrates behavior consistent with MedStar Health mission, vision, goals, objectives, and patient care philosophy.
• Displays characteristics of inquiry, empathy, courtesy, and respect during communication with customers.
• Ensures complete communication (closes the loop and follow-up) between key customer groups including internal and external customers in an appropriate and timely manner.
• Maintains scheduling protocol knowledge base and designated skill set to meet established goals for scheduling accuracy, daily call metrics, and defined individual/team goals.
• Participates in multidisciplinary quality and service improvement teams as appropriate. Participates in meetings, serves on committees, and represents the department and hospital/facility in community outreach efforts as appropriate.
• May be included in physician practice meetings as required, including training with physician secretaries, regular staff meetings, and/or other training classes as directed.
• Responsible for inbound call handling to identify and assess callers' needs quickly and accurately.
• In the Physician Centers Only: Registers and schedules patients for a variety of different physician specialty clinics as well as modifying physician schedules upon request. Works closely with Patient Insurance Specialists, secretaries, and nurses to coordinate and schedule procedures and clinics.
• Performs a variety of assigned clerical and patient care duties essential to the daily operations of the assigned department, which may vary by department and/or site, including patient registration, patient scheduling, coordinating physician orders, insurance verification, and coordination of services for patients.

Requirements

• High School Diploma or GED (required).
• Associate's degree (preferred).
• Bachelor's degree from a college or university in healthcare or related field (preferred).
• 2 years of related experience, training in a fast-paced customer service industry position analyzing and resolving customer concerns from basic to complex (required).
• 1-2 years of telephonic experience, typically acquired in a call center role, front desk reception, hospital, or medical office scheduling environment.

Skills

• Excellent customer service skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Basic knowledge of Microsoft Office (including Word, Excel, and Outlook).
• Ability to navigate through multiple technology programs simultaneously while speaking on the telephone.
• Ability to type 40 WPM accurately.
• Highly organized, process-oriented, with the ability to multitask, be flexible, and a self-starter.
• Ability to follow instructions and assist visitors and/or patients without compromising safety, service, care, or efficiency.
• Friendly and professional when interacting with patients and visitors at all times.
• Able to project a positive and professional image at all times.
• Able to empathize with, determine, and prioritize MedStar customer needs and provide appropriate solutions.
• Able to remain composed, focused, and demonstrate compassion during stressful situations.
• Able to demonstrate learning and decision-making skills.

Schedule

• Hybrid with onsite location in Rosedale.
• Requires onsite training, then 2 days per month in office.
• Must be able to work variable schedule(s) and overtime as necessary, providing access center coverage and assistance.

Pay

This position has a hiring range of USD $18.70 - USD $32.72 per hour.