Patient Access Representative, Team Lead

Stony Brook Southampton Hospital's Patient Access Services in a hospital setting encompasses many different roles and responsibilities. It is one of the most important and concentrated areas in healthcare. We are responsible for the delivery of the critical components of the revenue cycle, as well as keeping the hospital compliant with the many regulatory agencies, maintaining patient safety through correct patient identification practices and providing extraordinary customer service skills in situations that are often difficult.

About the role

The Communications (Switchboard & Bedboard) Team Lead is responsible for helping oversee the operations of clerical support staff by managing and delegating interactions between patients, providers, and administration to improve customer service and employee satisfaction. They are also responsible for assigning tasks and ensuring completion, overseeing staff by acting as a resource for information and difficult situations, while maintaining open communication with staff, patients, providers and leadership to ensure operational goals are met. This position collaborates with Patient Access leadership to ensure a proper and excellent patient experience is achieved and is responsible for the overall day-to-day administrative operations and delivery of the critical components of the front-end business.

Responsibilities

• Oversees and coordinates the flow of overall functions of the Patient Access Services Office.
• Operates telephone switchboards and consoles to connect, hold, transfer and disconnect telephone calls.
• Connects call to the required extension, re-direct them to another number or place them in a waiting queue if the desired number is busy.
• Oversees bed board systems to maximize hospital occupancy and patient flow.
• Organizes, distributes and responds to all incoming emails to the department email box.
• Assists clinical and marketing teams for departmental promotions.
• Assists where appropriate to maintain departmental regulatory compliance.
• Works across departmental teams to maintain workflow efficiencies.
• Participates directly in revenue cycle initiatives as needed.
• Collects co-payment, deductible, and co-insurance amounts according to patient’s health insurance plan and contractual agreement.
• Helps merge patient charts from ancillary systems into the patients’ electronic Medical Record.
• Supports quality patient care while meeting health and safety standards.
• Verifies insurance eligibility of all insured patients and financially investigate self pay patients.
• Organizes, maintains, and tracks authorizations for all patients and visits.
• Collaborates with other departments to ensure the needs of the patient and department are met.
• Reports/attends departmental monthly meetings and provide updates on departmental initiatives, goals, and statistics.
• Responsible for creating and preparing unique and recurring reports or project as needed and assigned while keeping Patient Access leadership properly informed including daily point-of-service collections and revenue cycle initiatives.
• Collaborates with Patient Access leadership on performance expectations, regulatory and accreditation mandates.
• Works closely with Patient Access training team to ensure all new hires have necessary access to hospital systems.
• Tracks and manages single case rate agreements to maximize reimbursement.
• Stays abreast of changing third party payer criteria to aid in revenue capture as it relates to the hospital financial policy.
• Maintains current knowledge base regarding insurance information and managed care guidelines; maintains knowledge base of designated networks based upon managed care contracts.
• Coordinates with Patient Access leadership to ensure appropriate staffing levels are met based on operational needs, handles/arranges coverage as needed, and can be required to accommodate all shifts and locations across the department.
• Develops and maintains positive customer service with all patients, colleagues, visitors, and vendors by exercising utmost diplomacy and tact.
• Manages RQA reports by resolving errors and producing corrected accounts.
• Abides by documentation guidelines consistently.
• Adheres to all company and department policies and procedures in confidentiality, regulatory and contractual mandates and HR policy.
• Complies with departmental dress code and maintains a neat appearance.
• Keeps current with departmental and hospital training requirements, including the completion of annual refresher courses.
• Performs other department related duties as deemed appropriate by the Patient Access Services leadership.

Requirements

• Associate’s degree required.
• Five (5) years’ experience in Healthcare/Revenue Cycle/Business Office required.
• Three (3) years’ experience in staff supervision/leadership required.
• Two (2) years Patient Access experience required.
• One (1) year switchboard/bedboard experience required.
• Customer service and support skills required.
• Strong communication, interpersonal, and multitasking skills required.
• CPT, ICD-10, and medical terminology experience required.
• Must possess quantitative analytical skills and computer savviness including Microsoft Office, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, including knowledge of external provider web portals.
• Demonstrates exceptional attention to detail and accuracy in all tasks, ensuring high-quality results and minimizing errors.
• Must be able to multitask in a high stress fast-paced environment.
• Capable of working independently with minimal supervision, demonstrating strong self-motivation and initiative with strong time management skills to meet deadlines.
• Possesses comprehensive knowledge to help in assisting patients in understanding medical insurance benefits.

Physical Demands

• Prolonged periods of standing, walking and sitting.
• Commuting to hospital and offsite facilities required.
• Must be able to lift up to 25 pounds.
• Possible exposure to various illnesses and diseases.
• As part of employment at Southampton Hospital, there may be occasions when travel to other locations is needed to support operational needs.

Pay

The starting salary range (or hiring range) for this position has been established based on relevant experience.

About the Organization

Stony Brook Southampton Hospital as part of Stony Brook Medicine provides direct access to the highest level of academic-based medical care. Located in the heart of the village of Southampton, two hours from New York City, the hospital provides healthcare services to a diverse community of year-round residents, second homeowners and vacationers. The population, about 75,000 in the winter months, increases sharply to more than 300,000 in the summer. Stony Brook Southampton Hospital has been recognized as a Long Island Top Workplace by Newsday among large employers (defined as having 500+ employees). Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, consistent with our shared core values and our intent to achieve excellence, remains dedicated to supporting healthier and more resilient communities, both locally and globally.