Practice Coordinator I

About the role

The Practice Coordinator reports directly to the Practice Manager and is responsible for supporting administrative duties for the practices. This includes scheduling, confirming appointments, patient interaction (telephone and in-person), administrative practice support, and special projects.

Essential duties include administrative support and coordination for provider, radiation oncology, and infusion services consisting of physicians, nurse practitioners, physicists, program nurses, staff nurses, and research nurses; scheduling complex appointments; following guidelines that support safe clinical practice, patient comfort, continuity of care for complex visits; a high standard of timely communication and rescheduling as necessary; and coordination of clinical visit related reports, documentation, requisitions, and other materials.

Managing direct communications with patients and family members is critical to this role; the Practice Coordinator provides the first greeting and welcome for patients arriving for appointments and represents the customer service orientation of the practice. The role also provides general administrative support to on-site leadership and providers as needed, including scheduling appointments, scanning and faxing documents upon request.

The Practice Coordinator will work directly with the Dana-Farber Access Management staff at the Longwood campus, as appropriate, to process referrals, authorizations, and financial counseling, working together to promptly assist the patient and resolve discrepancies.

Responsibilities

• Administrative Support of Practice
  • Answer telephone; triage calls as necessary.
  • Transition telephones to and from answering service; retrieve messages from the answering service and triage appropriately.
  • Handle incoming requests for medical records and mail/fax information as appropriate; work with Health Information Management (HIM) on medical requests and changes to personal patient information (e.g., patient name change).
  • Facilitate prescription refills for patients, as needed.
  • Recognize emergencies and appropriately respond using standard operating procedures and critical thinking skills.
  • Support patient flow by appropriately directing patients and family members and managing the waiting areas.
  • Provide customer service to colleagues and other staff members on the use of specific systems as well as on-site and Longwood-based processes.
  • Monitor the lobby and waiting areas for neatness and cleanliness and ensure appropriate assistance is given to patients and family members.
  • Provide general administrative support and coordination for all aspects of patient care for both new and/or established patients, including filing, document preparation, data entry, and telephone support.
• Patient Check-In
  • Greet patients; verbally verify name, date of birth, telephone number, and MRN; provide and witness signing of consent form (if necessary); arrive patient in Epic; assign patient badge in RTLS; provide patient wristband and RTLS badge. Update patient information in Epic appropriately.
  • Confirm patient's demographics (address/phone numbers, etc.) and insurance information.
  • Refer patients to financial counselor as appropriate.
  • Navigate new patients and educate them about all available services.
  • If insurance has changed, copy card and perform insurance eligibility check.
  • Review patient "alerts" in Epic and reconcile (e.g., patient contact information, Medicare Survey, psychosocial distress screening).
• Patient Check-Out
  • Schedule follow-up appointments for exam and infusion services; coordinate ancillary appointments (lab, imaging, radiation oncology, etc.) using Epic, ARIA, and other systems.
  • Provide appointment scheduling ranging in complexity from one physician appointment to multiple care provider appointments in accordance with department scheduling guidelines for new and/or existing patients.
  • Obtain same-day insurance authorizations and referrals.
  • Responsible for complex scheduling activities associated with patients arriving from the main campus, other centers, or other outside entities and coordinate appointments with other specialists, dieticians, social work, second opinions, etc.
  • Provide basic information regarding the need for insurance referral(s).
  • Recognize emergencies and appropriately respond using standard operating procedures and critical thinking skills.
  • Perform independent patient and outside provider call triaging and assist in directing patient flow.
  • Refer patients to financial counselor as needed at DFCI.
  • Manage In-Basket messages, take ownership, and respond appropriately to all messages.
  • Manage referral workqueues in Epic.
  • Attend weekly team meetings with clinical teams.
  • Obtain detailed clinical information face-to-face, by telephone, or electronically.
  • Handle incoming requests for records and mail/fax information as appropriate; fax notifications to HIS as necessary (e.g., patient name changes).
  • Serve as a liaison between patient/family/provider; resolve issues directly or ensure appropriate management of calls by others.
  • Perform other duties as required by the Operations team.
• End of Day Functions
  • Ensure all patient appointments have been checked out.
  • Reconcile the infusion DAR to ensure all patients that arrived in clinic have been set up for future appointments.
  • Check that all next-day appointments have labs scheduled if required and that necessary lab orders are linked.
  • Assist in the review of office supply levels to ensure adequate supplies at the front desk.
  • Receive shipments to the unit and place supplies and stock items in the proper storage area.

Requirements

• Associate’s degree and/or 2 years of equivalent experience preferred.
• 2 years of experience in customer service is required; experience in healthcare is a plus.
• Knowledge of managed care policies and medical terminology is a plus.
• Understand and utilize DFCI systems as well as the local Hospital's systems (e.g., Epic).
• Basic knowledge of insurance plans, including knowledge of insurances that the host hospital participates in and high-risk insurances.
• Ability to multi-task and function as an integral member of the team.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent computer, customer service, and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated ability to draft reports, correspondence, and other administrative documents pertaining to patient scheduling as needed.

Schedule

Monday–Friday; 9:30 AM–6:00 PM

Pay

Pay Range: $20.10 – $28.75 per hour