Medical Practice Assistant

Parkland Health

20h•Onsite

About The Position

The Medical Practice Assistant is primarily responsible for providing patient-centered care and operational support to the medical team, aiming to ensure an optimal patient experience. This role involves coordinating activities within clinical areas to facilitate smooth patient flow, assisting with patient data collection, performing selected screenings, and completing various medical office functions relevant to the assigned area. For virtual care, the assistant proactively engages with patients, assists with health system navigation, and collaborates with the multidisciplinary team to improve access to care. Parkland Health, one of the nation’s largest public hospital systems, is dedicated to delivering exceptional care to the Dallas community, fostering a collaborative and engaged team focused on excellence, innovation, and patient-centered service.

Requirements

Must have three years of customer service experience, preferably in a medical/healthcare/health insurance setting.
Must be able to work collaboratively with colleagues to deliver patient/customer services that exceeds patient expectations as evidenced by patient satisfaction scores.
Must be able to demonstrate competency required as applicable to specialty area.
Must have demonstrated communication skills to include above average verbal skills (heavy public contact) and written skills.
Must have familiarity with diagnostic ICD-9 CM coding and HCPCS-CPT4 procedure codes.
Must have working knowledge of medical terminology.
Must be able to demonstrate basic clerical skills and working knowledge of standard office equipment.
Must be detail oriented and have sharp analytical skills to resolve registration issues as related to multiple groups including third-party payors, physicians, patients and the system.
Must be able to solve problems within the guidelines of established policies and procedures.
Must be able to adjust to multiple demands, shifting priorities and rapid change.
Must be able to work collaboratively and optimally with patients with serious health conditions and barriers to care (Virtual Care Only).
Must be able to recognize and escalate clinical decision making to appropriate team members of the multidisciplinary team (Virtual Care Only).
Must demonstrate strength in documenting within an electronic health record with ability to effectively problem-solve when faced with decision-making challenges and escalate as appropriate (Virtual Care Only).
Confident with technology, specifically electronic medical record, video encounters and computer applications (Virtual Care Only).

Nice To Haves

Patient registration experience preferred.
Prefer completion of course work towards an accredited medical terminology.
Medical Office Assistant experience or training a plus.
Bilingual skills preferred.

Responsibilities

Ensure patient and family comfort, safety, privacy and confidentiality at all times.
Adapt work methods to specifically accommodate the population-specific care needs (physical, psychosocial, cultural, age/developmental) of each patient.
Greet patients and families, making them feel welcome and wanted.
Assist patients and families with directions, inquiries and information as requested, ensuring needs are addressed satisfactorily.
Keep patients and families informed of wait times and any other circumstances that may impact the visit.
Stay cognizant of clinical/area needs to facilitate patient care and flow.
Assess patient experience at the end of each visit to determine if patient needs were met.
Proactively outreach to patients utilizing motivational interviewing, demonstrating effective and caring communication to develop patient trust and establish and maintain relationships to gather information, encourage patient self-interest in healthcare, and follow up on patient established goals (Virtual Care Only).
Assist patients and families with health system navigation, making appointments, patient advocacy, determination of community resources to reduce barriers to care, and support set-up and initiation of electronic communication modes (email, MyChart, etc.).
Coordinate clinic/area activities and facilitate business processes according to standards.
Perform pre-visit activities to gather patient information from internal and external service or entities to ensure information is available to the clinic team for the visit.
Check the patient into the clinic and correctly identify the patient prior to performing tasks.
Review and update patient account to ensure registration and coverage is current and complete, confirming or verifying coverage as needed.
Identify and refer patients for financial counseling as appropriate.
Perform upfront cash collections; receive, verify and post money transactions following Parkland cash management policies and procedures.
Account for all monies through the patient accounting system and/or point of sale system.
Verify and complete daily reconciliations that ensure cash transactions are handled accurately and deposits made daily.
Assist with the process of internal and external appointments, referrals and information retrieval.
Schedule appointments in accordance with clinical team directive and patient desires/availability.
Perform charge capture and charge reconciliation to ensure encounters are complete and closed in a timely manner.
Collaborate with multidisciplinary team to improve patient access to care and reduce avoidable organization utilization (Virtual Care Only).
Document (paper or electronic) completely, accurately, legibly and timely.
Ensure applicable documentation is obtained for registration and patient visit, providing explanation for all requested forms to ensure patient understanding.
Perform data entry/documentation of patient care intake information.
Perform data entry/documentation of patient encounter (Virtual Care Only).
Assist with maintenance of clinic supplies and equipment, including stocking and inventory.
Keep appropriate persons informed of status of supplies and equipment.
Complete requisition documentation for supplies, equipment and services, as applicable.
Comply with proper hand hygiene (hand washing/hand sanitizer gel/foam use) and apply or practice proper infection control methods.
Identify, correct and/or report safety hazards at the time of discovery.
Identify and/or facilitate maintenance problems with equipment, initiate requests for work order, and remove from patient care area, as appropriate.
Inform Environmental Services when additional cleaning activities are needed.
Elevate critical incidents and information regarding any quality-of-care concerns to multidisciplinary team (Virtual Care Only).
Participate in performance improvement and quality initiatives.
Meet expected performance quality measures as outlined for area(s) or responsibility.
Identify ways to improve work processes and improve customer satisfaction, making recommendations to supervisor, implementing, and monitoring results as appropriate.
Stay abreast of the latest developments, advancements, and trends in the field by attending seminars/workshops, reading professional journals, actively participating in professional organizations, and/or maintaining certification or licensure.
Integrate knowledge gained into current work practices.
Maintain knowledge of applicable rules, regulations, policies, laws and guidelines that impact the area.
Develop effective internal controls designed to promote adherence with applicable laws, accreditation agency requirements, and federal, state, and private health plans.
Seek advice and guidance as needed to ensure proper understanding.