MENTAL HEALTH MA

Under general direction of the Mental Health Manager, the Mental Health Medical Assistant coordinates referrals, scheduling, and administrative support for mental/behavioral health services.

Responsibilities

• Coordinates referrals between primary care and behavioral health providers.
• Provides patients with basic information about mental/behavioral health and psychiatry services.
• Manages scheduling for individual appointments and groups, including:
  • Opening and blocking clinician schedules.
  • Identifying cancellations and no-shows and offering slots to other patients.
  • Making reminder calls to patients as instructed.
  • Tracking group attendance.
• Maintains a record of all patients referred to the mental health department and their status.
• Identifies when patients may need emergency mental health services and makes appropriate referrals.
• Maintains high ethical standards, especially confidentiality, as required by the clinic, state, and federal regulations.
• Assists the Mental Health team with administrative duties.
• Routinely attends relevant agency and mental health department meetings.
• Prepares examination rooms at the beginning and/or end of each day.
• Prepares patients for examination, which may include in-person, electronic, or phone contact.
• Performs patient care procedures and evaluations for which certified/approved, including but not limited to:
  • Immunizations and injections.
  • Assisting in minor procedures.
• Documents all medical information in appropriate fields in the EMR.
• Accurately enters immunization information into the CAIR registry and EMR.
• Contacts patients to remind them of and confirm appointments.
• Documents and signs all clinical support tasks in the medical chart.
• Checks electronic medical record messages and follows up appropriately.
• Scans documents into the electronic medical record.
• Performs reception, discharge, scheduling, and eligibility checks using computerized electronic medical records.
• Enrolls patients in appropriate insurance and drug assistance programs.
• May provide health education to patients.
• Participates in quality assurance activities to monitor and improve patient care quality.
• Meets customer service standards.
• Follows all SRCH policies and procedures.
• Participates in ongoing training.
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Graduation from a medical assistant program with appropriate certification.
• Completion of a medical assistant externship.
• Current CPR certification.
• AA, BA, or BS in counseling, social work, psychology, or equivalent experience in community mental health preferred.
• One year of medical assistant experience preferred.
• Experience with electronic medical records preferred.
• Experience in community mental health preferred.

Skills

• Bilingual (English and Spanish) preferred.
• Knowledge of compliance issues within the community clinic environment.
• Willingness to report any incident that is unusual or incompatible with accepted clinic procedures.
• Maintains confidentiality of patients at all times.
• Sensitivity to and willingness to interact with persons of various social, cultural, economic, and educational backgrounds.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications including Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to prioritize projects, work relatively independently, manage multiple tasks, and meet deadlines.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work with people with a variety of background and educational levels.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Good judgment, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Demonstrated proficiency with all tasks on the most current MA competency list.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment.

Pay

Hourly range: $27.51–$32.83, depending on experience.

Physical Requirements

• Use standard office equipment and access, input, and retrieve information from a computer.
• Use a computer keyboard with manual and finger dexterity and wrist-finger speed sufficient to perform repetitive actions efficiently for extended periods of time.
• Communicate effectively in person or via telephone, including with a diverse population.
• Give and follow verbal and written instructions with attention to detail and accuracy.
• Perform complex mental functions; collect, interpret, and/or analyze complex data and information.
• See details of objects at close range.
• Coordinate multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Reach forward, up, down, and to the side.
• Sit or stand for minimum periods of one hour at a time and come and go from the work area repeatedly throughout the day.
• Lift up to 30 pounds.