Medical Practice Assistant- Infectious Diseases Clinic

Parkland Health

About The Position

The Medical Practice Assistant provides patient-centered care and operational support to the medical team to promote an optimal patient experience. The role coordinates activities across clinical areas, facilitates patient flow, assists with patient data collection, performs select screenings, and completes medical office functions relevant to the assigned area. The position is in the Infectious Diseases Clinic. The assistant supports patients and families throughout clinic visits, coordinates registration and appointment processes, gathers and documents patient information, handles cash transactions and related reconciliations, supports charge capture, and helps maintain clinic supplies and equipment. For virtual care assignments, the role also includes patient outreach and navigation, support for electronic communication and video encounters, and collaboration with a multidisciplinary team to improve access to care.

Requirements

Three years of customer service experience; medical, healthcare, or health insurance experience is preferred.
Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues to deliver patient/customer service that exceeds patient expectations, as evidenced by patient satisfaction scores.
Ability to demonstrate competency applicable to the specialty area.
Above-average verbal communication skills for heavy public contact and written communication skills.
Familiarity with diagnostic ICD-9-CM coding and HCPCS-CPT4 procedure codes.
Working knowledge of medical terminology.
Basic clerical skills and working knowledge of standard office equipment.
Detail orientation and analytical skills to resolve registration issues involving third-party payors, physicians, patients, and systems.
Ability to solve problems within established policies and procedures.
Ability to adjust to multiple demands, shifting priorities, and rapid change.
For virtual care only: ability to collaborate effectively with patients who have serious health conditions and barriers to care.
For virtual care only: ability to recognize clinical decision-making needs and escalate them to appropriate multidisciplinary team members.
For virtual care only: strength in electronic health record documentation and ability to problem-solve decision-making challenges and escalate as appropriate.
For virtual care only: confidence using electronic medical records, video encounters, and computer applications.

Nice To Haves

Patient registration experience.
Completion of coursework toward accredited medical terminology.
Medical Office Assistant experience or training.
Bilingual skills.
Completion of a Parkland Workforce Development Training Program may substitute for the required education and experience.

Responsibilities

Provides patient service activities in coordination with the clinical team.
Ensures patient and family comfort, safety, privacy, and confidentiality.
Adapts work methods to accommodate patients’ physical, psychosocial, cultural, and age/developmental care needs.
Greets patients and families and assists with directions, inquiries, and information.
Keeps patients and families informed about wait times and other factors that may affect their visit.
Stays aware of clinical and area needs to facilitate patient care and flow.
Assesses the patient experience at the end of each visit to determine whether needs were met.
For virtual care only, proactively contacts patients using motivational interviewing and caring communication to build trust, gather information, encourage engagement in healthcare, and follow up on patient-established goals.
For virtual care only, assists patients and families with health system navigation, appointments, advocacy, community-resource identification, and setup of electronic communication such as email and MyChart.
Coordinates clinic or area activities and facilitates business processes in accordance with standards.
Performs pre-visit activities to gather patient information from internal and external sources for the clinic team.
Checks patients into the clinic and correctly identifies them before performing tasks.
Reviews and updates patient accounts to ensure registration and coverage information is current and complete.
Confirms or verifies coverage as needed and refers patients for financial counseling when appropriate.
Collects upfront cash and receives, verifies, and posts transactions in accordance with Parkland cash management policies and procedures.
Accounts for all monies through the patient accounting and/or point-of-sale system.
Performs and verifies daily reconciliations to ensure cash transactions are accurate and deposits are made daily.
Assists with internal and external appointments, referrals, and information retrieval.
Schedules appointments according to clinical-team direction and patient preferences and availability.
Performs charge capture and charge reconciliation to ensure encounters are complete and closed promptly.
For virtual care only, collaborates with a multidisciplinary team to improve patient access and reduce avoidable organizational utilization.
Documents completely, accurately, legibly, and promptly, on paper or electronically.
Ensures required documentation is obtained for registration and patient visits and explains requested forms to support patient understanding.
Enters and documents patient care intake information; for virtual care only, also enters and documents patient encounters.
Assists with clinic supply and equipment maintenance, stocking, and inventory as appropriate.
Keeps appropriate personnel informed about supply and equipment status.
Completes requisition documentation for supplies, equipment, and services as applicable.
Practices patient safety measures in association with site leadership.