Clinic Services Specialist - Dermatology
About The Position
The Department of Dermatology at University of Iowa Health Care is seeking a motivated, patient-focused professional to support a fast-paced, team-oriented clinical environment. The Clinic Services Specialist (CSS) helps ensure a seamless patient experience by managing complex patient scheduling, front desk operations, overbook procedures, and coordination of care with other departments and external facilities. The role requires frequent collaboration with nurses, medical assistants, physicians, and advanced practice providers to support high-quality care. The position coordinates patient appointments and tests through EPIC, handles appointment requests and in-baskets, supports check-in and check-out, and assists with insurance authorizations and financial arrangements. The CSS serves as an intermediary among patients, clinical staff, and scheduling personnel, helps maintain documentation and training materials, and contributes to improving scheduling workflows and service quality. The role also serves as a mentor and service excellence ambassador while upholding departmental standards and UI Health Care professionalism policies.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Six months to one year of administrative experience.
- Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal skills.
- Excellent customer service skills.
- Demonstrated ability to handle complex situations with minimal supervision.
- Experience with computer software applications, including Microsoft Office Suite.
- Applicants must upload a resume and cover letter addressing how they meet the required and desired qualifications.
Nice To Haves
- Experience with the EPIC system.
- Experience scheduling in an outpatient health care setting.
- Experience maintaining professionalism while handling difficult situations with callers or customers.
- Knowledge of University of Iowa policies, procedures, and regulations.
Responsibilities
- Schedule, cancel, and reschedule patient appointments and tests in EPIC in accordance with UI Health Care guidelines.
- Coordinate appointments across UI Health Care departments, clinics, diagnostic testing areas, and internal and external referring providers.
- Negotiate appointment times based on provider availability, patient needs, and clinic capacity, and ensure appropriate provider matching and timelines.
- Monitor and maintain the Appointment Request work queue, process requests promptly and accurately, and escalate issues as needed.
- Work EPIC in-baskets, including staff messages, orders, patient reminders, CRMs, and patient advice or scheduling requests.
- Make outbound calls to schedule or reschedule appointments.
- Provide additional surgery and cosmetic scheduling coverage, including out-of-pocket estimates, insurance authorizations, and financial arrangements.
- Perform patient check-in and check-out, confirm and update demographics, insurance, and caregiver information, and collect co-payments according to policy.
- Communicate visit-specific preparation instructions using patients’ preferred communication methods.
- Provide front desk coverage, including retail product sales, out-of-pocket payments, and check-in and check-out duties.
- Resolve concerns as an intermediary between patients, clinical staff, and scheduling personnel.
- Negotiate scheduling changes with providers and communicate updates to relevant staff and supervisors.
- Communicate scheduling policies and procedures to other schedulers in writing and verbally.
- Collaborate with peers, attend staff meetings, and contribute to continuous improvement of scheduling workflows.
- Obtain necessary documentation from outside providers, such as notes, images, and biopsy reports, before dermatology appointments or surgeries.
- Scan documents into the electronic health record, including insurance approvals, authorizations, and supporting documentation.
- Support insurance preauthorization staff by submitting prior authorizations for procedures and prescriptions.
- Assist the Cosmetic Coordinator with Advanced Beneficiary Notices, cosmetic financial agreements, service charges, and retail product sales and basic product education.
- Update and maintain training materials and reference documentation.
- Provide ideas and feedback to improve scheduling processes and service quality.
- Serve as a mentor, role model, and service excellence ambassador for staff, co-workers, patients, and visitors.
- Uphold departmental best practices, quality standards, and UI Health Care professionalism policies.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
