Medical Assistant Patient Services Rep

CommonSpirit Health•Rancho Cordova, CA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Medical Assistant Patient Services Representative at Dignity Health Medical Foundation is responsible for comprehensive patient service and appointment management. This includes scheduling and registering patient appointments for multiple providers, processing cancellations, and handling a high volume of incoming calls. The role involves processing various communication requests (phone, fax, email) with an emphasis on efficiency and accuracy, providing patients with essential information, and utilizing clinical decision trees and scheduling criteria to determine appropriate appointment types and urgency. Additionally, the representative updates patients on referrals/authorizations, communicates with healthcare providers, documents findings in patient records, and provides lab/radiology results within policy guidelines. A key aspect of the role is issue resolution, focusing on first-call resolution, de-escalating issues, and appropriately referring matters to RNs, physicians, or supervisors when necessary. The position also involves supporting other team members with escalation concerns.

Requirements

High School Graduate or High School GED
Satisfactory completion of a formal Medical Assistant program pursuant to the Division of Allied Health Professions or military training that is equivalent to an accredited Medical Assistant program (determination by Dignity Health Medical Foundation H.R. department in conjunction with the State Division of Allied Health Professions.)
Minimum of 6 months experience scheduling patient appointments, either in-person or via phone.
Experience with computer systems, including office windows based programs and web based applications.
Exceptional ability to comprehend and communicate clearly and effectively (both verbally and in writing across all communication platforms) with medical center staff, patients, families, and other internal and external customers.
Exceptional patient/customer service skills, including effective and efficient problem-solving and analytical skills.
Ability to perform essential job functions with a high degree of independence, flexibility, and creative problem-solving.
Ability to provide ongoing support for other team members in effectively utilizing communication tools and documenting interactions in applicable systems.

Nice To Haves

Certified Medical Assistant AAMA

Responsibilities

Schedule and register patient appointments for multiple providers, and process cancellations.
Answer, screen, and process a high volume of incoming calls in a professional manner.
Process all communication requests (phone, fax, email, and other channels) with an emphasis on efficiency and accuracy.
Provide patients with information for other requests, such as addresses/directions, phone numbers, hours of operation, and contact information for other departments (e.g., billing).
Utilize and adhere to phone scripts, clinical decision trees, and scheduling criteria following department guidelines.
Use independent knowledge and training to determine the appropriate appointment type and urgency, routing the call or scheduling the patient to the appropriate resource.
Update patients on the status of their referral or authorizations.
Send accurate and complete communication to physicians or other healthcare providers.
Document clinically relevant findings in the patient's record following approved protocols.
Provide laboratory and radiology results to patients via phone or electronic communication when within approved policy guidelines and scope of practice.
Determine the reason for the call and assist the caller with their questions or concerns with a primary focus on first-call resolution.
Maintain control of the call by effectively de-escalating issues.
Clearly articulate a response to the patient using appropriate voice modulation to instill confidence that a resolution has been or will be found.
Facilitate patient issue-resolution by appropriately referring the matter to the RN, physician, supervisor, or issue/content expert.
Escalate matters to a supervisor, or request/take appropriate action to enable the issue expert to effectively resolve the matter.
Support other team members with escalation concerns, guiding them in the correct process.