PATIENT ACCESS SPECIALIST

Responsibilities

• Collects patient payment of financial responsibility over the phone, provides receipt of payment to patient, and documents payment as outlined in the department’s workflow
• Recommends to the Supervisor modifications to existing policies and procedures that support Covenant Health’s values and are intended to increase efficiency and promote data integrity
• Notifies the Supervisor/Financial Counselor of any potential self-pay patient, worker’s compensation patient, or non-covered procedures
• Schedules diagnostic procedures utilizing the eCare (Cerner) scheduling system
• Verifies all orders are completed and signed
• Verifies insurance benefits and verifies pre-certification from third-party payers
• Accurately documents relevant demographic, clinical, and financial information required for scheduling, pre-registration, and insurance verification using eCare (Cerner), TransUnion, and STAR
• Attempts to collect payment of financial responsibility for all patients to improve overall collections and cash flow
• Reports pertinent procedural changes/updates to appropriate leadership
• Professionally interacts with patients, providers, office staff, and hospital department staff members
• Demonstrates ability to keep up with regulatory and insurance requirements, ensuring that changes are incorporated into daily job functions
• Ensures the scheduling process is handled in a professional and courteous manner
• Schedules on average 25 appointments per day
• Clearly communicates all necessary information to patients, e.g. clinical preps as outlined in the eCare scheduling guidelines, ABNs, financial responsibility, etc.
• Recognizes situations that necessitate managerial intervention and seeks out appropriate resources
• Promotes good public relations for the department and the organization
• Attends monthly staff meetings and participates in discussions regarding work performance and departmental/hospital updates
• Displays competence in the use of all IT Systems related to insurance verification, scheduling, patient registration, and scheduling
• Makes sure appointment schedules are updated daily for cancellations, reschedules, stats, or other changes; communicates with all departments impacted
• Activates manual systems for computer network downtime, printing schedules in advance when necessary
• Notifies leadership of unscheduled downtime occurrences
• Fulfills all other duties as assigned

Qualifications

• Minimum Education: None specified; will accept any combination of formal education and/or prior work experience sufficient to demonstrate possession of the knowledge, skill and ability needed to perform the essential tasks of the job, typically such as would be equivalent to a high school diploma or GED. Preference may be given to individuals possessing a Bachelor’s degree in a directly-related field from an accredited college or university.
• Minimum Experience: Experience in hospital setting or financial area required.
• Licensure Requirement: None