Patient Services Associate - Patient Access ED - Hospital of the University of Penn Cedar - FT Days

Summary

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 practice, manages and handles patient calls and inquiries, coordinates patient appointments, updates patient insurance/billing information, and performs point of service activities.

Responsibilities

• Strives to create and maintain a culture of safety and service excellence through the following accountabilities:
• Greets and interacts with patients in a pleasant and professional manner, on phone or in person.
• Listens carefully and communicates clearly with patients to ensure understanding of patient’s request.
• Analyzes problems from the customer’s point of view.
• Learns/anticipates the individual patient/customer needs and does the best possible job of satisfying those needs using the best solutions.
• Documents need, as appropriate, in EPIC.
• Establishes positive relationships with patients by demonstrating knowledge of patient history, compassion and responding to individual needs.
• Handles stressful patient/customer situations appropriately and delivers seamless patient/customer service.
• Ensures patient/family confidentiality, safety and security.
• Identifies opportunities to improve the patient experience, including areas identified in patient satisfaction surveys.
• Ensures communication and collaboration with clinical staff and fellow co-workers to serve patients to the best of his/her ability.
• Shows initiative, sets priorities, organizes tasks, and works independently and as part of a team while completing daily tasks.
• Safety:
• Participates in Entity and Department wide initiatives for Patient /Employee safety
• Demonstrates an awareness of patient/ employee safety when carrying out daily responsibilities of their position.
• Patient Service:
• Takes accountability for ensuring patient/work areas are neat and clean.
• Orders supplies, as requested, for practice/department.
• As per practice/department protocols and/or measurements: answer phones/retrieve voicemails in a timely manner, manage/handle patient requests and route appropriately, take thorough messages and route appropriately through EPIC.
• Schedule patient appointments (on phone or in person) accurately and completely:
• Utilizes knowledge of schedules and protocols
• Uses proper billing area/appointment location
• Cancels/reschedules appointments as needed and changes appointment status in EPIC
• Communicate changes to patients and confirm appointments.
• If scheduling patients via telephone, remind patient what to bring to appointment (insurance card, test results, referrals, etc.).
• Encourage patients, as appropriate, to sign up for My Penn Medicine.
• Responsible for arriving/departing activities of patient at practice and performs point of service activities
• Obtains insurance cards, copays, signatures/forms, referrals/authorizations as required and updates EPIC accordingly
• Finalizes all check-out procedures as per practice protocol
• Communicates with patients regarding patient flow and wait times – keeps manager aware of potential issues as they arise.
• Issues referrals and obtain pre-authorizations for patients as required
• Successfully navigate and resolve EPIC work queues – escalate as needed
• Proactively prioritizes recovery of missing charges
• Financial:
• Maintains up to date knowledge of insurance requirements pertinent to patient service and billing procedures: including basic knowledge of all managed care plans UPHS participates with and which insurers require a copayment or referral.
• Achieves proficiency in automated systems; such as EPIC APM and EMR (including in basket), hospital based EMRs (where necessary), Navinet, credit card machines, IPayment, etc.
• Validates patient demographic/insurance information and/or registers new patients into EPIC using established protocols
• Validates financial responsibility prior to utilization and completes an accurate financial interview at time of registration
• Records receipts according to practice protocol to ensure appropriate end-of-day reconciliation.
• Participates in cash reconciliation delineations.
• Generates/runs reports, as requested, related to front-end processes
• Resolve work queues and/or issues from front-end reports which may include the patient pre & post visit, charge review, and others as requested.
• Regulatory Compliance:
• Completes educational and training requirements at prescribed intervals (via Knowledge Link and/or other methods as required).
• Ensures compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local regulatory standards (ex TJC, DOH, FDA, HIPAA, HCFA, DPW, LCGME, SCGME, etc.)
• Change Management:
• Flexible and readily adopts new processes and is engaged in practice operation changes.

Qualifications

• H.S. Diploma/GED (Required)
• Equivalent Experience: And 2+ years medical office experience, or 4 years of customer service experience.
• Advanced degree (Associate's, Bachelor's, Master's) may be considered in lieu of experience
• Associate of Arts or Science preferred