What are the responsibilities and job description for the Patient Access Rep position at CommonSpirit Health?
In 2020 united in a fierce commitment to deliver the highest quality care and exceptional patient experience Virginia Mason and CHI Franciscan Health came together as natural partners to build a new health system centered around the patient: Virginia Mason Franciscan Health. Our combined system builds upon the scale and expertise of our nearly 300 sites of care including 11 hospitals and nearly 5000 physicians and providers. Together we are empowered to make an even greater impact on the health and well-being of our communities.
Responsibilities
This job is responsible for performing a variety of general administrative support duties associated with the patient intake process for the Franciscan Medical Group (FMG) outpatient clinics in accordance with established internal guidelines and procedures. Incumbents typically interact with patients directly at the front desk and/or on the phone to perform follow-up activities.
Work includes: 1) ensuring patient is checked in/out for care; 2) collecting and entering demographic and financial data in the patient’s medical record; 3) gathering/validating insurance information using routine methods, scheduling patient appointments; 4) collecting co-pays, co-insurance and prior balances; 5) obtaining and processing of referrals, authorizations and pre-certifications for patients requiring ancillary testing and/or surgical procedures; and 6) working with patients to ensure the patient’s referral needs are fulfilled and determining insurance benefit coverage for hardware related items such as retail contact lenses by working directly with patients’ insurance carriers, ever needed.
Work requires critical thinking, hearing the needs of the patient meeting those needs by offering multiple options and solutions, knowledge of insurance authorization/billing requirements and privacy/confidentiality practices, as well as knowledge of medical terminology and the patient intake process. An incumbent following proper channels of communication in handling daily and routine problems and recognizing issues that need referral to management. Strong customer service skills are required offering the highest level of service to every patient every time.
An incumbent is generally located either behind-the-scenes, interacting with patients on the phone or at the front desk, interacting with patients directly.
Registers and/or checks patients in/out.
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Handles and reconciles payments.
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Continually monitors and reconciles issues prior to patient visit.
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Processes referral orders and/or pre-authorizations.
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Coordinates appointments and ancillary services.
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Responds to patient questions regarding routine billing and insurance matters.
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Coordinates patient instructional/educational activities.
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Qualifications
Education/Work Experience Requirements
- One year of customer service work experience is required, two years preferred. Healthcare or Call Center experience preferred.
Job Knowledge/Abilities:
- Knowledge of clinic referral and scheduling processes and insurance billing/authorization requirements.
- Knowledge of clinic financial options, payment alternatives and insurance billing/authorization requirements.
- Knowledge of federal and state payor requirements, including Medicare, DSHS, HMO/PPO Contracts.
- Knowledge of the meaning and usage of medical terminology, abbreviations and coding protocols (e.g., ICD-10) sufficient to perform the duties of the position.
- Knowledge of the functionality and use of automated registration and billing systems (e.g., Cerner) sufficient to perform the duties of the position.
- Ability to learn and ensure compliance with all state and federal regulatory insurance mandates, laws and policies (e.g., WAC, HIPAA, CMS, WSHA) as appropriate within designated scope of authority.
- Ability to read, understand and accurately apply new regulations, business contracts, policies, procedures and technical manuals as appropriate within designated scope of responsibility.
- Ability to rapidly prioritize tasks with accuracy and consistency, and to perform multiple activities simultaneously.
- Ability to communicate effectively and to maintain strict confidentiality of information.
- Ability to read and understand English sufficient to perform the duties of the position.
- Ability to use office equipment and automated systems/applications/software at an acceptable level of proficiency.
- Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships as required by the duties of the position.