Ambulatory Office Assistant I - Part Time - Unatego School Based Health

Bassett Healthcare Network•Otego, NY

About The Position

The Ambulatory Office Assistant I is the first point of contact for patients within Bassett Healthcare Network and a key member of the patient-centered care team. The role provides administrative and, as needed, clinical support to ambulatory care teams, with an emphasis on excellent customer service, accurate and timely communication, attention to detail, patient experience, appropriate scheduling, and accurate collection of demographic and financial information. Duties may include payment collection, cash handling, insurance eligibility processing, and direct patient care. The position supports patients throughout scheduling, registration, referrals, clinic visits, and follow-up. It may include welcoming and rooming patients; recording vital signs and other clinical information; performing point-of-care testing and EKGs; preparing charts and medication refill messages; supporting records management and referrals; processing payments; and maintaining clinic supplies, equipment, and records. The assistant follows Bassett policies, departmental procedures, regulatory requirements, and patient safety practices, and may cover other locations or departments after orientation. Occasional travel may be required. This is a part-time position. The listed pay range is USD $17.32 to $25.98 per hour. Benefits may vary by location and position.

Requirements

At least one year of relevant work experience; an associate degree or higher may be substituted.
BLS certification within six months of hire.
Computer skills.
Customer service skills.
Time management skills.
Ability to multitask.
Communication skills.
Ability to meet the stated physical requirements, including medium work and the described occasional and constant physical activities.
Occasional travel may be required.

Nice To Haves

High school diploma or GED.
Customer service experience.
Medical Office Assistant or Medical Assistant certification.

Responsibilities

Greet patients and provide courteous, welcoming service in person and by telephone; answer calls promptly, take complete messages, and follow up as needed.
Provide new patients with Welcome to Bassett Network information and offer patients the opportunity to enroll in MyBassett.
Escalate urgent situations and patient concerns to the supervisor or supervising nurse, and communicate patient issues to providers.
Keep patients informed about appointment delays and maintain current communication preferences for reminders.
Collect, verify, enter, and update demographic, insurance, financial, and regulatory information for outpatient registration, following applicable procedures and audit requirements.
Confirm primary care and billing providers when appropriate, support collection of required beneficiary notices, and correct system data issues within required timeframes.
Answer patient questions about the organization and its services and direct patients to appropriate clinical locations.
Schedule outpatient appointments according to patient needs and departmental guidelines; offer appropriate alternatives and escalate needs that cannot be met.
Use available scheduling tools, perform appointment schedule edits as assigned, follow procedures for rescheduling, and review appointment confirmation or reminder lists when required.
Process urgent referral requests the same day and routine referral requests within 24–72 hours; ensure referral information and prior authorizations are complete and documented.
Work incoming and outgoing referral queues and follow up with referred-to providers regarding appointments and results.
Prepare for the patient experience by reviewing charts and making reasonable efforts to ensure necessary reports, laboratory work, and imaging are available; track missing information and assess language-access needs.
Prepare medication refill messages with the information required by provider and departmental guidelines and distribute patient literature as needed.
Perform point-of-care tests as required, run equipment controls, maintain log books, and perform EKGs according to departmental protocols.
Greet and room patients promptly, identify patients using two identifiers, document work-up information such as vital signs, use the electronic medical record for clinical documentation, and communicate patient concerns to providers.
Clean and stock exam rooms, check medications and supplies for expiration, monitor inventory, and enter charges for supplies and clinical testing.
Convey payment due based on insurance information, receive and receipt payments, and balance the cash drawer daily according to finance procedures.
Date-stamp and route incoming patient information; complete basic demographic information on forms; mail outgoing patient information; and route forms to the appropriate departments.
Prepare correspondence and outside health information for scanning; perform or support indexing and scanning; and route medical-record release requests to Health Information Management for processing.
Maintain office supply and form inventory, departmental filing and record-keeping systems, and clinic opening or closing procedures as assigned.
Follow procedures for access to secure areas and make appropriate hand-offs in 24-hour departments.
Cover other locations or departments after orientation and adapt to workflows, processes, and policies across the network.
Attend required in-services and educational opportunities, complete training as needed, maintain job-specific knowledge and competencies, and perform related duties as directed.