Medical Assistant 3 (Bay Front)

University of California, San Francisco•San Francisco, CA

3d•Onsite

About The Position

Under the supervision of the Administrative Supervisor, guided by policies and procedures of the Ambulatory Services, and in collaboration with the Clinical Nursing Staff, Hospital Assistant III assists in the delivery of care to patients in the Department of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery. Work includes a variety of personal care and clinical procedures, including ensuring positive care outcomes. They will perform assigned patient care and laboratory procedures supporting the specialty care services provided to patients within the practices. They are required to learn and be able to assist in the Department of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery. S/he is required to adhere to the Telephone and House Standards as adopted by the Medical Center. This position makes a difference for patients in an outpatient care unit by providing excellent customer service, facilitating and ensuring the accuracy of the information flow between medical, hospital staff and departments to maximize unit efficiency. This Hospital Assistant III functions in the outpatient clinical settings at all UCSF Health sites (Parnassus, Mt. Zion, joint UCSF health partnerships, Satellite Clinics, or with UCSF Faculty at other off-site clinic sites, et al).

Requirements

Certification from an approved Medical Assistant program or equivalent combination of training and experience.
Knowledge and abilities essential to successfully performing the duties assigned to the position.
Current American Heart Association CPR Certification.
Demonstrated proficiency with computer usage, keyboard skills, and software programs such as Microsoft Word and Excel.
Ability to work effectively with people from diverse cultures and diverse socioeconomic situations.
6 Months – 1 year experience as a medical assistant.

Nice To Haves

6 Months experience with OHNS in an ambulatory setting/medical practice.
Proficiency with EPIC (APeX) electronic health records system.
Bilingual or multi-lingual capability (Spanish, Cantonese, Russian) strongly preferred.
Experience collecting and entering data, identifying errors and missing information, and performing fundamental process improvement analysis.
Experience with insurance authorizations and interacting with retail pharmacies to refill medications.

Responsibilities

Performs routine clinical functions and documents in patient chart, including but not limited to vital signs, height, weight, pain screening and documentation of chief complaints.
Documents use of interpreter as appropriate.
Work with interpreting services to facilitate interpreter participation for medical appointments in person, by phone, or by video (if available).
Assists nurses and providers and patients in preparation for exam and/or procedures.
Successfully completes all appropriate competencies to perform or assist with procedures as required for department specialty and determined by the Nurse Manager/Supervisor or Administrative Director--which may include but not limited to: Performs disinfecting and pre-cleaning processing procedures in outpatient clinic and maintain all appropriate logs.
Cleans and prepares instruments for transport to the sterile processing department.
Assists in in-clinic complex medical procedures and diagnostic testing/imaging (including but not limited to laser, nasal endoscopy, laryngoscopy, stroboscopy, EMG, botox, fine needle aspiration, ultrasound).
Acts as chaperone as needed for medical providers.
Works as an internal float for department as requested by supervisor.
Transports patients as directed and ensures their safety.
Monitors patient flow in and out of the clinic.
Sets up exam rooms in preparation for the provider and patient based on patient chief complaint/reason for visit.
Obtains specimens and performs simple Testing as directed, including QA/QC.
Obtains specimens and performs simple laboratory procedures conforming to all policies and procedures related to specimen handling and processing.
Participates in updating mandatory logs (i.e., temperature log, disaster cabinet log, crash cart log).
Facilitates referrals to other providers as ordered by the physician.
Obtains authorizations from insurers for medications.
Performs clinical activities in an accurate and timely manner.
Assists physician staff in writing and sending out patient communications.
Complies with all Ambulatory Services and Medical Center policies and procedures for infection control, safety, administrative and clinical practice.
Complies with activities mandated by JCAHO/Title 22.
Ensures all medication cabinets remain locked at all times.
Provides patient and family education as needed and documents in APeX.
Demonstrates courtesy, common sense and follow through in all telephone communications, maintaining the Medical Center Telephone Standards.
Ensures a professional and helpful working environment by upholding the House Standards as adopted by the Medical Center.
Notifies providers of patient delays and service issues.
Acts as an advocate for patients by helping to facilitate provider punctuality to maintain optimal clinic schedules.
Communicates provider delays to front office team and makes regular announcements to patients in waiting room or exam room as needed when delays are over 30 minutes.
Shares pertinent information and observations with other health team members, communicates critical issues, abnormal results, and excursions in a timely manner.
Identifies and communicates problems to the nursing staff or appropriate supervisor.
Offers suggestions for change or improvement in clinic/practice operations.
Assists patients with issues and complaints utilizing conflict management skills.
Contacts labs, pharmacies, and physician/provider offices as needed to obtain necessary patient information, complying with HIPAA guidelines.
Utilizes Electronic Health Record (APEX) for documentation within the scope of practice of a Hospital Assistant which may include but not limited to: Documentation of vital signs, height, weight and pain scale.
Enter patient chief complaint and history (i.e. tobacco/family hx/ med/surg/social).
Enter patient reported allergies and medications.
Follow department and APeX protocols.
Documentation of test results.
Enter & “pend” scripted orders from provider.
Open a Medication Refill Encounter for provider.
Scheduling laboratory, radiology and other testing with a written order from a provider.
Open telephone encounters.
Open staff messages.
Updates and maintains pharmacy information in APeX.
Ensures patient care team information is current.
Maintains clean, well-stocked exam rooms, hub rooms and lab.
Responsible for ordering and maintaining supplies, maintenance of lab equipment.
As requested, reviews Lab log of results and prints results for providers.
Obtains insurance authorizations for medications, procedures and film or slide review authorizations.
Schedules complex procedures and coordinates services for patients.
Coordinates meal and rest periods with other Hospital Assistants and ensures coverage of clinic under direction of supervisor/manager.
Maintains supply standards as directed by nursing staff or appropriate supervisor.
Adheres to infection control procedures as outlined in the Infection Control Manual.
Adheres to the Ambulatory Service Policy and procedures for the cleaning, disinfecting, and sterilization of equipment.
Participates in various QI and Customer Service initiatives such as wait time studies, outcome data collection from procedures, etc.
Performs any other duties related to patient care activities as required.