Patient Services Associate Orthopaedics Sports Medicine

Penn Medicine is dedicated to our tripartite mission of providing the highest level of care to patients, conducting innovative research, and educating future leaders in the field of medicine. Working for this leading academic medical center means collaboration with top clinical, technical, and business professionals across all disciplines.

About the role

The Patient Services Associate (PSA) assists the practice/department in maintaining a patient/customer focus, supports the delivery of high-quality care, shares a passion for patient and customer-centered care, and assists in meeting or exceeding patient satisfaction and financial/operational targets. The PSA is responsible for the arrival and/or departure activities of patients in the practice, managing and handling patient calls and inquiries, coordinating patient appointments, updating patient insurance/billing information, and performing point-of-service activities. The PSA may function in a physician practice or a call center environment. Rotation between PSA functions and/or departments may be required.

Responsibilities

• Strives to understand and anticipate patient needs, manages service recovery efforts when needed, enlisting management assistance as appropriate, identifies opportunities to improve the patient experience.
• As per practice/department protocols and/or measurements:
  • Answer phones in a timely manner, manage/handle patient requests and route appropriately.
  • Retrieve voicemails in a timely manner, take accurate and thorough messages, and route appropriately through EMR.
• Schedule patient appointments (on phone or in person) by:
  • Determining reason for visit, following established schedules and protocols.
  • Using appropriate billing area/appointment location.
  • Communicating changes and confirming appointments.
  • Offering alternatives and canceling/rescheduling appointments as needed.
• Responsible for arriving/departing activities of patients at practice and performs point-of-service activities:
  • Collects copays and records accurately.
  • Obtains necessary signatures/forms.
  • Obtains insurance cards and referrals/authorizations.
  • Updates appointment status in EMR.
  • Finalizes all check-out procedures.
• Communicates with patients regarding patient flow and wait times – keeps manager aware of potential issues as they arise.
• Issues referrals and obtains pre-authorizations for patients as required and as per protocol.
• Maintains up-to-date knowledge of insurance requirements pertinent to patient service and billing procedures, including basic knowledge of all managed care plans and which insurers require a copayment or referral.
• Validates patient demographic/insurance information and/or registers new patients into EMR using established protocols.
• Records receipts accurately to ensure end-of-day reconciliation; participates in cash reconciliation delineations.
• Resolves work queues and/or issues from front-end reports; proactively prioritizes recovery of missing charges.
• Orders supplies for the office and generates front-end process reports as requested.
• Ensures compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local regulatory standards (e.g., TJC, DOH, FDA, HIPAA, HCFA, DPW, LCGME, SCGME).
• Flexible and readily adopts new processes and engages in practice operation changes.
• Access Center Responsibilities (if appropriate):
  • Coordinates clinical and administrative aspects of the new patient scheduling encounter.
  • Performs within the expected outcome of the Automated Call Distribution (ACD) environment.
  • Solves telephone issues and timely reports problems related to volume to manager.
  • Follows established downtime procedures for registration.
• As needed: assist with coverage of POS and Pre-Processing Areas, create/mail new patient packets, appointment ‘bumping’, wait list scheduling, resource scheduling, and team scheduling.
• Performs duties in accordance with Penn Medicine and entity values, policies, and procedures.
• Other duties as assigned to support the unit, department, entity, and health system organization.

Requirements

• High School Diploma/GED (Required).
• 2+ years medical office experience or relevant customer service experience (Required).
• Advanced degree (Associate's, Bachelor's, Master's) may be considered in lieu of experience.
• Must successfully complete/pass EPIC schedgistration training/tests.

Benefits

We believe that the best care for our patients starts with the best care for our employees. Our employee benefits programs help our employees get healthy and stay healthy. We offer a comprehensive compensation and benefits program that includes one of the finest prepaid tuition assistance programs in the region.

Schedule

Monday to Friday, office hours based on operational need.

Location: Penn Sports Medicine Center Weightman Hall - 235 South 33rd St.