Clinical Secretary

Yale New Haven Health•Bridgeport, CT

About The Position

The Clinical Secretary coordinates patient care and physician activity by greeting patients and visitors, answering telephone calls, scheduling appointments, and maintaining patient medical records. The role supports efficient, cost-effective front-desk and check-in operations, communicates schedule changes, handles administrative workflows and payments, and contributes to quality improvement and patient feedback activities. The employee is expected to support the organization’s mission and values of integrity, patient-centered care, respect, accountability, and compassion.

Requirements

High school degree or equivalent.
At least one year of administrative or customer service experience.
Excellent organizational, communication, customer service, and teamwork skills.
Ability to multitask.
A patient-centered approach to care.
Professional, appropriate, effective, and tactful written, verbal, and nonverbal communication with patients, families, medical staff, colleagues, vendors, and other departments.

Nice To Haves

Prior experience in a physician’s office or medical practice, hospital, or health system.
Electronic medical record (EMR) experience.
Working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications.

Responsibilities

Maintain appointment schedule templates, including alterations, deletions, and additions, and communicate schedule changes to appropriate staff and physicians or providers.
Coordinate check-in and front-desk operations; receive arriving patients and verify or obtain required information and signatures in accordance with policies and procedures.
Answer office telephone calls, take accurate and complete messages, and refer callers to appropriate personnel while maintaining proper telephone etiquette.
Complete insurance pre-authorizations for upcoming diagnostic tests and procedures when necessary, and track referrals received by the practice.
Maintain electronic medical records and/or paper medical charts in accordance with policies and procedures.
Perform daily administrative activities, including retrieving messages from answering services and voicemail, retrieving and distributing faxes, filing, photocopying, and opening and sorting mail.
Forward phones to the answering service and notify the service about physicians’ on-call status.
Collect and reconcile co-payments and cash drawers, including cash, checks, and credit card payments, within Epic and in accordance with policy and procedures.
Collaborate in and contribute to individual, team, and department quality improvement and evaluation activities; attend and actively participate in staff meetings.
Interact effectively and professionally with people of diverse ages and backgrounds, and coordinate patient and family feedback activities and related interventions.
Perform other related tasks as requested by physicians or management and provide cross coverage as needed.
Assist with or perform chaperone duties for patient medical procedures as needed.