Medical Office Assistant - EDS Center

Medical University of South Carolina•Ashley, WV

About The Position

The Medical Office Assistant supports MUSC EDS Center primary care, an annual subscription concierge program in West Ashley that connects Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome patients with a primary care physician. The program emphasizes preventive care, individualized wellness plans, personalized attention, convenient appointments, and referral management. The role helps provide a high level of customer service while supporting clinic efficiency and patients’ financial and registration needs. The position greets patients and families, schedules appointments, maintains accurate demographic, insurance, personal, and financial records, and handles copayments and prior balances. It evaluates scheduled visits for funding and coverage concerns, explains expected patient costs, identifies potential financial resources, and supports financial applications and counseling. The role also coordinates messages, ancillary scheduling, and referrals; documents work in Epic; and collaborates professionally with patients, care teams, State workers, and external partners while following MUSC policies and applicable regulations.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent (GED).
One year of customer service experience.
Ability to communicate professionally and effectively, both formally and informally.
Ability to interact with medical professionals and care team members from diverse cultures and backgrounds.
Ability to understand and interpret credit bureau data.
Ability to perform the listed physical activities, including standing, walking, sitting, bending, kneeling, climbing stairs, reaching, using hands and legs, and repetitive motions.
Ability to frequently lift and/or carry approximately 20 pounds unassisted and lift 15 pounds from 36 inches to overhead.
Ability to maintain corrected 20/40 vision and recognize objects both near and at a distance.
Ability to work indoors in a latex-safe environment.

Nice To Haves

Ability to interpret and apply financial procedures and regulations.
Previous experience with hospital information systems or word processing.

Responsibilities

Greet and welcome patients and families in person and by telephone.
Schedule appointments appropriately to support patient experience and clinic efficiency.
Obtain, record, and update patient demographic, insurance, personal, and financial information.
Meet established productivity metrics for pre-registration, registration, and assigned Epic patient work queues.
Complete regulatory and compliance forms required for each visit.
Verify coverage and complete payment workflows, including screening for potential funding sources and setting expectations about reimbursement.
Notify patients of copayments, deductibles, and deposits before services are rendered, and collect payments when applicable.
Use the Epic fee estimation tool to provide estimates and assist with resolving financial applications.
For insured patients, calculate estimates based on plan benefits and out-of-pocket thresholds, discuss costs, and finalize a payment method.
Accept advance payments and hand them off to the appropriate billing office for posting to patient accounts.
Identify discrepancies in Epic tools and work with appropriate teams to resolve them.
Communicate and educate patients about out-of-pocket costs to help minimize complaints.
Inform patients about available programs, including FAP and COBRA, and comply with applicable state and federal regulations.
Ensure patient accounts are appropriately processed and referred for financial counseling, documenting relevant information so the health care team can see the work performed.
Work collaboratively and professionally with internal and external peers, medical professionals, care team members, State workers, and other partners.
Maintain confidentiality of patients’ personal and financial information and protect patients’ rights.
Support customer service, message distribution, ancillary scheduling, and referral management.
Comply with MUSC Health policies and procedures.
Perform other duties as assigned.