Patient Access Associate

About the role

The Patient Access Associate position at Houston Methodist is responsible for obtaining and entering accurate demographic and insurance information in the electronic health record (EHR) on patients presenting at the various entry points of the facility. This position performs cashiering functions, ensuring that all hospital accounts are secure, through the collection of the required co-pay, deductibles and co-insurance. This position also performs the medical necessity check, to ensure compliance with Medicare guidelines.

Responsibilities

• Obtains and records accurate demographic and insurance information on patients by interviewing patients, family members and physicians. Ensures that the correct insurance plan codes are utilized for the billing process.
• Explains the consent forms, obtains signatures on the forms and responds to any questions in a professional manner.
• Contributes to departmental and hospital patient experience. Proactively seeks solutions to address patient issues and concerns. Alerts management in a timely manner to any unusual and/or difficult situations impacting the level of service.
• Ensures that ordered services meet established medical necessity criteria when applicable.
• Collections payments based on pre-determined information. Performs insurance verification to determine patient out of pocket expenses for services. If applicable, offers payment options after the minimum required payment has been received. Fulfills monthly goals for cash collection.
• Accurately posts and receipts patient payments. Balances cash drawer on a daily basis; follows the department policy related to cash drawers and cash receipting.
• Organizes time effectively, minimizing incidental overtime and sets priorities. Utilizes time between heavy workloads efficiently and helps other team members.
• Ensures that protected health information remains private and confidential, according to established HIPAA guidelines. Uses patient identifiers consistently to properly identify patients and the correct medical records. Refrains from issuing new medical record numbers to patients with existing accounts.

Qualifications

• Education: High School diploma or equivalent education (examples include: GED, verification of homeschool equivalency, partial or full completion of post-secondary education, etc.)
• Experience: Two years of experience in a strong customer service environment
• Experience: One year of registration experience in a hospital environment preferred
• Skills and Abilities: Demonstrates the skills and competencies necessary to safely perform the assigned job, determined through on-going skills, competency assessments, and performance evaluations
• Communication: Demonstrates sufficient proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing the English language necessary to perform the essential functions of this job, especially with regard to activities impacting patient or employee safety or security
• Customer Service: Demonstrates the ability to effectively communicate with patients, physicians, family members and co-workers in a manner consistent with a customer service focus and application of positive language principles
• Flexibility: Demonstrates the ability to multi-task and flexibility to meet the requirements of the patients and the department
• Knowledge: Demonstrates knowledge of basic registration/access functions and insurance procedures
• Problem Solving: Demonstrates the ability to problem solve
• Patience: Demonstrates the ability to remain calm in stressful situations with patience and understanding
• Professional Communication: Demonstrates excellent customer service and professional communication skills
• Computer Skills: Demonstrates proficient computer skills and ability to learn and navigate multiple software programs
• Detail Work: Demonstrates the ability to handle detail work accurately and rapidly

Skills and Abilities

• Safety: Demonstrates the skills and competencies necessary to safely perform the assigned job, determined through on-going skills, competency assessments, and performance evaluations
• Language: Demonstrates sufficient proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing the English language necessary to perform the essential functions of this job, especially with regard to activities impacting patient or employee safety or security
• Communication: Demonstrates the ability to effectively communicate with patients, physicians, family members and co-workers in a manner consistent with a customer service focus and application of positive language principles
• Flexibility: Demonstrates the ability to multi-task and flexibility to meet the requirements of the patients and the department
• Knowledge: Demonstrates knowledge of basic registration/access functions and insurance procedures
• Problem Solving: Demonstrates the ability to problem solve
• Patience: Demonstrates the ability to remain calm in stressful situations with patience and understanding
• Professional Communication: Demonstrates excellent customer service and professional communication skills
• Computer Skills: Demonstrates proficient computer skills and ability to learn and navigate multiple software programs
• Detail Work: Demonstrates the ability to handle detail work accurately and rapidly