Oncology Patient Access Representative III

Sutter Health•Oakland, CA

About The Position

The Oncology Patient Access Representative III obtains the information needed to register and financially clear patients, supporting accurate and compliant registration across Emergency, Ambulatory, Inpatient, and Outpatient service areas. The role provides functional guidance to new employees, uses judgment and initiative to resolve problems, and contributes to continuous improvement in Patient Access processes and services. The representative supports patient registration and financial clearance, including verification and entry of demographic, clinical, financial, and insurance information; collection of signatures and registration documents; insurance eligibility and benefit verification; referral and authorization work; financial education; and collection or processing of patient payments. The position also handles EHR and ADT work queues, resolves registration and billing errors, supports timely reimbursement, and provides technical and workflow support to Patient Access staff and relevant departments. Patient interactions may be face-to-face or through other communication methods, and the role is expected to support a positive patient experience while maintaining confidentiality and compliance with applicable laws and Sutter Health policies. This is a per-diem/casual, non-exempt position with a day shift, variable days, and every-weekend requirements. The posted pay range is $36.83 to $51.55 per hour. The job description states that eligible positions include a comprehensive benefits package.

Requirements

High school diploma or General Education Diploma (GED).
Two years of recent relevant experience.
General knowledge of patient access and financial counseling functions in acute and non-acute settings.
Working knowledge of insurance and medical terminology.
Knowledge of Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) and consent laws.
Time-management skills and ability to manage frequent in-person patient contacts while accurately maintaining and documenting data in patient registration systems.
Ability to work accurately and efficiently in multiple computer systems, including patient registration and accounting systems, telephone consoles, document imaging and scanning systems, payment posting systems, proprietary payer websites, and data-quality monitoring systems.
Verbal and written communication skills and active listening skills.
Accuracy and attention to detail.
Decision-making and problem-solving skills.
Ability to work concurrently on a variety of tasks and projects in a diverse environment.
Ability to meet or exceed targeted customer service, productivity, and quality standards.
Computer proficiency.
Ability to work with and maintain confidential information.

Responsibilities

Greet patients and family members and obtain or verify demographic, clinical, financial, and insurance information for patient registration and financial clearance.
Enter patient and guarantor information in registration and accounting systems; collect required signatures and image or copy registration documents.
Authenticate and register patients who have registered through the Patient Access Center, and complete the end-to-end registration process for patients who have not registered.
Obtain and process signed physician orders.
Maintain assigned work queues.
Conduct insurance eligibility and benefit verification, referral and authorization work, and financial education on designated accounts.
Calculate estimated patient liability, inform patients or guarantors, collect appropriate payments such as copayments, deductibles, and deposits, and process payments for current or prior services.
Refer appropriate cases to financial counseling for follow-up and consultation.
Perform other assigned duties, which may include cashiering, bed management, and communications-operator tasks.
Enhance the patient experience during all interactions and provide directional support to patients or family members when needed.
Support implementation of Patient Access programs, policies, initiatives, and tools, and contribute ideas and actions for continuous process improvement.
Learn new processes, concepts, and skills; seek and respond to performance feedback and provide upward feedback as needed.
Maintain positive working relationships with other Shared Services teams and support strong peer-to-peer relationships.
Perform revenue-cycle tasks to support compliance and customer service, authenticate patient identity, and meet the department’s monthly cash goal.
Review EHR work queues, provide ADT resolution and technical support, and clear ADT hospital billing work queues.
Identify and edit errors that prevent charges from being billed to insurance; release and correct work-queue errors to support timely reimbursement.
Work with Patient Access and Clinical department leadership and other appropriate parties to resolve accounts and ensure correct billing.
Correct and log registration errors, notify Patient Access Management when error rates exceed the allowed standard, and provide error feedback and education to Patient Access staff.
Create workflow tip sheets to improve registration and revenue processes as needed.
Create and track system workflow service help tickets for EHR improvements, implementations, troubleshooting, and patient chart corrections; collaborate with appropriate Sutter affiliates on resolutions.
Maintain knowledge of applicable laws, regulations, standards, policies, and procedures, and handle confidential information appropriately.