Medical Office Assistant III - Surgical Clinic

About the role

Join an innovative, patient-focused culture dedicated to improving the health and quality of life for the communities we serve. As the first point of contact for patients within the Bassett Healthcare Network, the Medical Office Assistant III plays a key role in the patient-centered care team, ensuring a high-quality experience through excellent customer service, attention to detail, and strong interpersonal skills.

Responsibilities

• Reception/Call Handling
  • Greet every patient courteously and positively, ensuring their needs are met as observed by supervisors and patient satisfaction surveys.
  • Provide new patients with a Welcome Packet including Advance Directive information, Health Information Privacy documents, and brochures. Ensure established patients over 18 receive Advance Directive information if undocumented.
  • Escalate emergent situations or patient problems to a Supervisor or Supervising Nurse.
  • Answer phones within 3 rings using a 3-part greeting (Department name, your name, “How may I help you?”).
  • End calls by asking if there is anything else needed, as noted in compliance reports.
  • Take clear, accurate phone messages or prescription requests via the electronic medical record and follow up to ensure patient needs are met.
  • Maintain operator statistics at or above institutional standards.
  • Offer patients the opportunity to sign up for MyBassett over the phone or in person.
  • Proactively inform patients of delays in provider schedules.
  • Train incoming staff in reception and call-handling functions.
  • Assign daily agent assignments for telephone queues in Amtelco or Cisco.
• Registration/Appointment Scheduling/Referrals
  • Complete outpatient registration, ensuring accurate demographic and insurance information is entered or scanned into the system.
  • Confirm attending and billing PCPs as appropriate.
  • Ensure data capture (e.g., MSPQ) meets regulatory and compliance requirements.
  • Support collection of Advanced Beneficiary Notice signatures for Medicare compliance.
  • Correct missing items from work-queues within 24 hours of system notifications.
  • Answer patient questions about services and provide directions to clinical locations.
  • Schedule outpatient appointments following department guidelines, offering alternate providers/locations when needed.
  • Accurately complete the Interactive Face Sheet and update demographic/insurance information.
  • Ensure patient communication preferences are up-to-date for appointment reminders.
  • Remind patients of co-pay collection expectations at the time of visit.
  • Utilize scheduling tools (e.g., Auto Search, Schedule Scanner) to optimize appointments for efficiency and patient satisfaction.
  • Edit daily appointment schedules as directed by supervisors and follow policies for rescheduling.
  • Confirm appointments with patients 24–72 hours in advance using the electronic Confirm List.
  • Review automated reminder lists (e.g., Televox, Phytel) in a timely manner.
  • Create or update provider templates using Template Builder security.
  • Process urgent referrals same-day and routine referrals within 24–72 hours.
  • Ensure complete and accurate referral information for reimbursement, compliance, and patient care.
  • Obtain prior authorizations and document them appropriately within referrals.
  • Work “Incoming” and “Outgoing” referral queues according to departmental standards.
  • Follow up with referred providers to confirm patient appointments and receipt of results.
  • Act as a subject matter expert in scheduling, registration, and referral functions.
  • Train incoming staff in registration, scheduling, and referral processes.
  • Run and process daily operational reports under supervisor direction.
  • Monitor and assign referral work-queues, alerting supervisors when thresholds are exceeded.
  • Track trends for performance improvement initiatives.
• Collection of Payment/Cash Handling
  • Inform patients of payment due based on insurance verification and request payment method (cash, check, or credit card).
  • Receive and receipt payments with no more than 2 minor errors per quarter, adhering to finance policies.
  • Maintain and balance cash drawer daily with no more than 2 minor errors per quarter.
  • Prepare daily cash-up reports accurately in cooperation with supervisors.
  • Perform petty cash record-keeping and management accurately and timely.
  • Assist with cash drawer errors, discrepancies, and reconciliation of cash management reports.
• Office Support/Cross Coverage/Confidentiality
  • Date-stamp and deliver incoming patient-related information to appropriate providers/staff daily.
  • Complete basic patient demographic information on forms (e.g., Disability, Workers Comp) before delivery to nurses/providers.
  • Mail outgoing patient information (e.g., lab letters, completed forms) within 24 hours.
  • Prepare correspondence to patients or other entities as directed by providers/supervisors.
  • Prepare and scan outside patient health information per Document Imaging procedures.
  • Index and scan hard-copy patient health information into the electronic health record or send to HIM for scanning.
  • Process routine or subpoenaed medical record releases to assigned HIM locations. Handle same-day requests for continuity of care.
  • Maintain office supply inventory and required forms following established procedures.
  • Establish and maintain departmental record-keeping and filing systems.
  • Open and/or close clinics per divisional guidelines, ensuring appropriate hand-offs for 24-hour departments.
  • Cover other locations or departments as requested, performing similar office functions.