Patient Assistance Specialist

About the Role

The Patient Assistance Specialist works as part of the Patient Care Team and assists with the overall office experience. This role is primarily responsible for providing excellent customer service in all patient contacts and promoting team-based care by collaborating and communicating patient needs with the care team.

Responsibilities

• Communicates with patients in a courteous and professional manner in face-to-face encounters and via telephone.
• Answers telephones, screens and routes incoming calls, takes messages, and delivers information electronically.
• Promotes the Team-Based Care Model by participating in daily huddles and monthly care team meetings to communicate and collaborate on patient issues and needs.
• Checks in patients for acute clinic, appointments, or other visits, verifying all demographic information and insurance.
• Notifies nursing staff and providers of patient arrival through EMR.
• Facilitates verification of patients’ insurance through web and Anthem portals, copies insurance cards, and notates information under patient demographics; contacts the billing specialist if needed.
• Scans immunization records for pediatric patients and new patients’ prior medical records.
• Checks out patients, schedules follow-up appointments, prints visit summaries, and administers patient surveys.
• Prepares lab results and ‘unable to contact’ letters to be mailed to patients.
• Assists with medical record transfers by providing forms and helping patients complete them once identification is provided.
• Collects money for co-payments and patient balances, applies payments to patient accounts, and provides receipts.
• Balances money collected from co-payments and patient balances, batches money with the day sheet, and secures it in the safe.
• Ensures accurate accounting of the cash drawer and logs transactions at determined times of the day (morning, evening).
• Assists patients with completion of the Reduced Fee application process.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• High School diploma or equivalent.
• 0-2 years of medical office experience preferred.
• Working knowledge of MS Office products and ability to learn electronic medical records and other computer-related applications.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Working knowledge of office equipment such as scanners, printers, copy machines, telephone systems, fax, and credit card machines.
• Ability to multi-task in a fast-paced environment.
• Proficiency with documentation in patient charts via actions, telephone encounters, or general/billing notes.
• Ability to communicate professionally and efficiently with employees, patients, and providers.
• Must remain calm and follow outlined procedures during patient-related crises.
• Physical attendance is essential; must meet outlined compliance goals and stay up to date with computer-based training.

Physical Demands and Working Environment

• Fast-paced office setting with frequent travel to other offices.
• Lifting and/or exerting force up to 25 pounds occasionally, with frequent moving of objects.
• Work requires speaking, sitting, bending, walking, standing, hearing, stooping, kneeling, and repetitive motion.
• Extended hours of computer usage.
• OSHA low-risk position.

Core Values

• Respect: We value and respect each patient, their family, ourselves, and each other. Every individual associated with Johnson Health Center is treated with dignity.
• Integrity: We are committed to doing the right thing every time, reflecting honesty, openness, truthfulness, accuracy, and ethical behavior.
• Excellence: We pursue excellence daily in teamwork, quality improvement, patient care, innovation, and efficiencies.
• Innovation: We value creativity, flexibility, and continuous improvement efforts, encouraging responsible risk-taking.
• Teamwork: We work across functional boundaries for the good of the organization, leveraging the expertise of each team member to optimize the patient experience.