Medical Practice Assistant- Irving Health Center

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 clinical-area activities, supports patient flow, collects patient data, performs select screenings, and completes medical office functions relevant to the assigned area. The position involves patient service and registration, appointment and referral support, documentation, cash handling, supply coordination, and patient-safety practices. Virtual Care assignments also include patient outreach, navigation and technology support, encounter documentation, collaboration with multidisciplinary teams, and escalation of clinical or quality concerns. Based on operational need, the employee may be required to work at an alternate Parkland location.

Requirements

Three years of customer service experience, preferably in a medical, healthcare, or health insurance setting.
Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues to deliver patient/customer services that exceed patient expectations, as evidenced by patient satisfaction scores.
Ability to demonstrate competency required for the applicable 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 strong 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 adapt to multiple demands, shifting priorities, and rapid change.
For Virtual Care assignments, ability to work collaboratively with patients with serious health conditions and barriers to care, recognize when to escalate clinical decision-making, document effectively in an electronic health record, solve problems, and escalate appropriately.
For Virtual Care assignments, confidence using technology, including 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.

Responsibilities

Coordinate patient-service activities with the clinical team and support efficient patient flow.
Promote patient and family comfort, safety, privacy, and confidentiality; adapt work methods to population-specific needs.
Welcome patients and families, provide directions and information, address needs, and communicate wait times or other visit-related circumstances.
Stay aware of clinical-area needs and assess at the end of each visit whether the patient's needs were met.
For Virtual Care assignments, proactively contact patients using motivational interviewing and caring communication; gather information, encourage engagement in healthcare, and follow up on patient-established goals.
For Virtual Care assignments, help patients navigate the health system, make appointments, advocate for patients, identify community resources, and set up electronic communication such as email or MyChart.
Coordinate clinic or area activities and business processes according to standards.
Perform pre-visit activities to gather patient information from internal and external sources for the clinic team.
Check patients into the clinic and correctly identify them before performing tasks.
Review and update patient accounts to ensure registration and coverage information is current and complete; verify coverage as needed.
Refer patients for financial counseling when appropriate.
Collect upfront payments, receive, verify, and post transactions in accordance with cash-management policies; account for funds in the patient accounting or point-of-sale system, reconcile daily transactions, and ensure daily deposits.
Assist with appointments, referrals, and information retrieval; schedule appointments according to clinical-team direction and patient preferences and availability.
Perform charge capture and reconciliation to ensure encounters are complete and closed promptly.
For Virtual Care assignments, collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to improve access and reduce avoidable organizational utilization.
Ensure paper or electronic documents are complete, accurate, legible, and timely; obtain applicable registration and visit documentation and explain requested forms to patients.
Enter and document patient-care intake information; for Virtual Care assignments, document patient encounters.
Assist with clinic supplies and equipment, including stocking and inventory; inform appropriate staff about supply or equipment status and complete requisitions as applicable.
Practice patient-safety measures, including hand hygiene and infection control; identify, correct, or report safety hazards.
Identify or facilitate equipment maintenance, initiate work orders, and remove equipment from patient-care areas as appropriate; notify Environmental Services when additional cleaning is needed.
For Virtual Care assignments, elevate critical incidents and quality-of-care concerns to the multidisciplinary team and participate in performance-improvement and quality initiatives.
Meet expected quality measures and participate in unit performance-improvement initiatives.
Work at an alternate Parkland location when required by operational need.