Optical Patient Service Representative

NORTHSHORE HEALTH CENTERS•Lake Station, IN

13d•Onsite

About The Position

The Patient Service Representative is the first point of contact between NorthShore Health Centers and its patients. The role provides customer service while greeting and directing patients and visitors, registering patients, scheduling appointments, and collecting co-payments and sliding-fee payments. It also includes protecting confidential information, verifying insurance benefits, completing financial screenings, coordinating prior authorizations when needed, and supporting accurate billing and collections. The position is performed in an office environment and involves frequent, ongoing contact with patients, physicians, and other healthcare personnel. Work may be stressful and frequently interrupted. Travel outside NorthShore locations is rare. Duties may change at management’s discretion and include other assigned tasks.

Requirements

Must be at least 18 years of age.
Must have reliable transportation.
High school diploma or equivalent.
Excellent interpersonal and customer service skills.
Ability to analyze situations and solve problems at strategic and tactical levels.
Ability to comprehend, interpret, and apply relevant laws, guidelines, regulations, ordinances, and policies.
Ability to acquire a thorough understanding of the organization’s hierarchy, jobs, qualifications, compensation practices, and related administrative practices.
Strong organization and planning skills.
Critical-thinking and problem-solving skills.
Ability to maintain composure and operate with emotional intelligence.
Ethical reasoning and decision-making skills.
Strong attention to detail and receptiveness and responsiveness to feedback.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Time-management, prioritization, and urgency skills.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite or related software.
Ability to sit and/or stand for prolonged periods and work shifts longer than eight hours.
Ability to work day, evening, and weekend shifts.
Ability to perform duties involving hand dexterity, reaching, climbing, balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, talking, and hearing.
Ability to occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.
Required vision abilities include close, distance, color, peripheral, and depth vision, and the ability to focus.

Nice To Haves

Two years of experience working within a healthcare setting.
Associate’s degree in business or healthcare-related studies.

Responsibilities

Greet patients and visitors cordially, determine the purpose of their visit, and direct them to the appropriate department.
Follow HIPAA guidelines and protect confidential information.
Register new and established patients, accurately enter relevant information, and obtain written consent for release of medical records.
Complete financial screenings for uninsured or underinsured patients using appropriate financial information.
Verify Medicaid, Medicare, and commercial insurance benefits to support coverage verification, billing, and collection accuracy.
Submit prior-authorization requests to insurance companies when needed based on specialty or department.
Collect co-payments, sliding-fee payments, and past-due balances.
Check out patients and schedule follow-up visits using appropriate scheduling templates.
Communicate patient wait times and provide other options when waits are excessive.
Educate patients about services provided at NorthShore.
Balance funds collected for patient services at the end of the workday.
Answer incoming calls courteously and professionally, address the nature of each call, and direct callers to the appropriate department.
Attend required meetings and training sessions.
Maintain working knowledge of practice policies and procedures.
Perform other assigned tasks requiring similar or lesser skills and abilities.
Use planning and strategic foresight, responsible decision-making, integrity and accountability, innovation and creativity, adaptability, leadership, teamwork, conflict resolution, professionalism, work ethic, and empathy.
Organize and plan work, apply critical thinking and problem-solving, maintain composure and emotional intelligence, use ethical reasoning, pay close attention to detail, respond to feedback, communicate effectively, manage time and priorities, and demonstrate a sense of urgency.