Appointment Scheduler

Urology Centers of Alabama•Homewood, AL

11d

About The Position

The Appointment Scheduler arranges appointments for new and established patients with physicians and advanced practice providers, following approved scheduling templates, provider preferences, and established guidelines. The role supports patient access and provider schedule utilization by offering appropriate appointment availability and alternatives, coordinating schedule changes, and helping fill openings and reduce scheduling gaps. The scheduler verifies and documents patient demographic and insurance information, identifies referral, prior authorization, network, and documentation requirements, and routes follow-up needs to the appropriate personnel. The role manages patient calls and messages, communicates appointment instructions, confirms appointments, and escalates urgent requests to clinical or administrative staff without providing clinical advice. Appointment Schedulers maintain accurate records in practice management and electronic health record systems, protect patient confidentiality under HIPAA and organizational requirements, and collaborate with clinical and administrative teams. They are expected to meet departmental standards for accuracy, call handling, productivity, availability, attendance, and customer service; participate in meetings and training; adapt to workflow changes; and communicate process-improvement recommendations. Other related duties may be assigned by departmental leadership.

Requirements

Demonstrated ability to follow provider-specific scheduling guidelines and maintain a high level of scheduling accuracy.
Ability to meet departmental standards for call handling, productivity, availability, and attendance.
Ability to verify and accurately document patient demographic and insurance information.
Ability to identify and communicate referral, authorization, and insurance requirements.
Excellent customer service, professionalism, compassion, and effective communication.
Ability to complete assigned tasks, patient messages, and follow-up responsibilities in a timely manner.
Ability to collaborate with clinical and administrative teams to improve patient access and reduce scheduling errors.
Adaptability to changes in scheduling procedures, technology, staffing, and organizational workflows.
Ability to maintain patient confidentiality in accordance with HIPAA and applicable requirements.
Demonstration of UCA's core values: Communicate, Collaborate, Adapt, Respect, Excel, and Serve.

Responsibilities

Schedule new and established patient appointments for physicians and advanced practice providers according to approved templates, provider preferences, and scheduling guidelines.
Obtain, verify, and accurately document patient demographic and insurance information.
Identify insurance requirements, including referrals, prior authorizations, network participation, and additional documentation, and communicate follow-up needs to the appropriate team.
Offer patients the earliest appropriate appointment availability and alternatives involving other providers or locations when applicable.
Maintain knowledge of provider templates, appointment types, scheduling rules, restrictions, and location assignments.
Schedule, confirm, cancel, and reschedule appointments, documenting changes and communicating them to appropriate departments.
Identify urgent appointment requests and promptly route them to medical secretaries, clinical staff, triage nurses, or providers under established escalation procedures; do not provide clinical advice.
Provide professional, courteous, compassionate service and communicate appointment details, locations, arrival times, required documentation, and other scheduling instructions.
Manage incoming and outgoing calls while meeting departmental expectations for call handling, availability, scheduling accuracy, productivity, and customer service.
Maintain patient demographics, insurance information, appointment details, and scheduling notes in practice management and electronic health record systems.
Assist with filling available appointments, minimizing scheduling gaps, managing cancellations, and improving provider schedule utilization.
Collaborate with medical secretaries, front desk personnel, clinical teams, referral coordinators, and management to resolve scheduling concerns and support continuity of care.
Document patient requests, route messages to appropriate teams, and complete assigned scheduling follow-up within established timeframes.
Assist with appointment confirmations, patient outreach, and rescheduling efforts to reduce missed appointments and improve engagement.
Protect patient information and maintain confidentiality in accordance with HIPAA, organizational policies, and applicable healthcare requirements.
Participate in required staff meetings, departmental training, continuing education, and workflow-improvement initiatives; maintain current knowledge of systems, procedures, and operational changes.
Demonstrate dependability, professionalism, teamwork, and accountability while following the Employee Handbook, attendance policies, performance standards, and organizational core values.
Identify scheduling challenges and workflow inefficiencies and communicate recommendations to leadership.
Perform other related duties assigned by departmental leadership.