Front Desk Associate

The Eye Center of St. Augustine is the oldest and largest state-of-the-art eye care center in the area, offering comprehensive services including an eye center, surgery center, and optical shop under one roof. With satellite locations in World Golf Village, Palm Coast, and Palatka, our board-certified doctors provide premier care to patients across Northeast Florida. Our ophthalmic surgeons perform cataract, laser, and ophthalmic plastic surgery on-site, while also offering eye examinations for adults and children over seven, along with a full-service optical shop at each location.

About the role

The Front Desk Associate serves as the first point of contact for patients and visitors, creating a welcoming environment while handling check-ins/outs, managing calls and emails, scheduling, providing information, resolving issues, and performing administrative tasks to ensure smooth operations and excellent customer service.

Responsibilities

• Greets patients warmly and verifies appointment details.
• Collects necessary documentation including ID, insurance cards, and referral forms.
• Books, confirms, and reschedules appointments.
• Verifies insurance eligibility and benefit coverage for all in-office visits, procedures, and tests.
• Collects co-payments and outstanding balances; calculates and communicates patient’s financial responsibility; documents in practice management system.
• Explains billing procedures.
• Enters data accurately in the practice management system and verifies existing information.
• Completes chart prep prior to clinic as needed (e.g., print routers, face sheets).
• Handles medical records requests directly from patients.
• Completes assigned tasks related to the appointment rescheduling queue in a timely manner.
• Monitors and completes tasks related to appointment recall and reminder processes as per practice SOP.
• Answers phones and responds to inquiries.
• Relays messages between patients and clinical staff.
• Maintains protected health information in accordance with HIPAA/PHI guidelines.
• Handles paperwork such as consent forms and HIPAA compliance.
• Interacts with all internal and external customers in a caring and respectful manner.
• Accepts deliveries of packages, mail, and other supplies from outside vendors.
• Maintains a clean, organized, and welcoming reception area.
• Provides clear information about services, wait times, and policies.
• Addresses patient concerns professionally and respectfully.
• Photocopies and faxes records and forms according to established policies and procedures.
• Maintains patient confidentiality.
• Participates in orientation/instruction of new administrative personnel as requested by management.
• Contributes to team effort by completing additional tasks/projects as directed.
• Attends daily huddle and regularly scheduled team meetings.
• Participates in on-boarding and training of new front desk associates and other administrative team members as assigned.

Requirements

• High School Diploma or equivalent years of related experience required.
• Nextech/ICP experience strongly preferred.
• Minimum of 1-year medical office experience strongly preferred.
• Strong reliability with good attendance and punctuality.
• Exercises sound judgment in responding to inquiries; understands when to route inquiries to the next level.

Skills

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Attention to detail for accurate data entry and insurance verification; strong organizational skills.
• Basic understanding of healthcare insurance payors and programs.
• Ability to multitask in a fast-paced environment.
• Familiarity with healthcare regulations (HIPAA, privacy laws).
• Basic math and cash handling.
• Excellent customer service skills.
• Understanding of medical terminology (preferred).

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage.
• 401k with company match.
• HSA/FSA options.
• Telemedicine services.
• Generous PTO package.
• Free employee discounts and perks.
• Employee Assistance Program.
• Group Life/AD&D insurance.
• Short-term and Long-term Disability Insurance.