Clinical Secretary - Family Medicine

Dartmouth Health•Nashua, NH

22h

About The Position

The Clinical Secretary supports a Family Medicine practice by reviewing, processing, and tracking referrals for services delivered by providers. The role schedules appointments, tests, and procedures; responds to patient calls; supports staff in communicating with patients; and may act as a liaison between physicians and specialists outside DH. The position handles patient-facing administrative needs, including greeting patients, assisting with forms and technology, addressing delays, assessing requests from patients without appointments, and directing clinical concerns appropriately. It manages schedules, wait lists, e-DH worklists, system messages, faxes, in-baskets, referrals, authorizations, and precertifications to help ensure that patient needs and follow-up are completed in a timely manner. The secretary also supports providers and staff with patient questions and concerns, monitors the waiting room for patients in distress, and follows applicable DH policies and procedures.

Requirements

High school graduate or equivalent.
One year of experience in a provider office.
Knowledge of insurance benefit programs and medical terminology.
Ability to interact effectively with providers, staff, patients, and insurance plan representatives.
Ability to prioritize multiple tasks.
Prior computer experience.
Excellent communication skills.
Attention to detail.

Responsibilities

Respond to patient calls with general information and education.
Greet patients arriving for appointments, provide appropriate questionnaires, answer questions, assist with forms and technology, and keep patients informed about delays.
Assess requests from patients without appointments and process requests for prescriptions, forms, appointments, or contact with clinical support.
Review schedules daily for accuracy, needed ancillary services, and incoming records; make adjustments as needed.
Review wait lists, manage multiple e-DH worklists, and reschedule patients to keep schedules full and meet patient needs.
Complete follow-up directed by the After Visit Summary, including booking appointments, scheduling lab and radiology exams, or arranging external procedures.
Receive calls from providers, staff, external provider offices, and patients; assess callers’ needs and process requests, take messages, schedule appointments, or transfer calls.
Monitor and complete system messages in a timely manner.
Monitor incoming faxes and determine the appropriate course of action in a timely manner.
Complete authorizations and precertifications for external and stat procedures so patients can receive services promptly and insurance is notified.
Review provider schedules at the end of the day, identify and contact patients requiring follow-up, and process no-show letters according to policy.
Support providers and staff in addressing patient questions and concerns, and provide instruction on communicating with patients about those concerns.
Monitor the waiting room for patients in distress and seek assistance when needed.
Respond to minor patient concerns and complaints using service recovery tactics, and report concerns and complaints to a supervisor or manager.
Monitor, prioritize, and properly route messages across multiple in-baskets.
Complete tasks assigned by providers or clinical staff.
Act as a liaison between primary care physicians and specialists outside DH.
Monitor internal and external referral work queues, process new referrals according to established procedures, and track queue status to ensure referrals are completed.
Implement and monitor DH policies and procedures.
Participate in initiatives to improve referral management.
Deliver mail to the mail room and pick up mail for distribution within the department daily.
Complete monthly tracers and weekly BCA (Business Continuity Application) system checks.
Perform other duties as required or assigned.