PAS Specialist

Oregon Health & Science University•Portland, OR

20h•Onsite

About The Position

This position provides support to all Ophthalmology Clinics at Marquam Hill, South Waterfront and satellite clinic locations, specifically in the areas of patient care, phones, reception, and scheduling on an as-needed basis. This position is a regular, full-time on-site position. The role involves triaging phone calls, dispensing appropriately, including facilitation of prescription refills, consults, walk-ins and emergencies. It requires providing high-quality customer service to both external customers (patients, referring providers, and insurance carriers) and internal customers (OHSU health care providers and staff). This includes prompt and professional communication, excellent face-to-face customer contact skills, and exceptional customer service skills. The PAS Specialist will schedule new and return patient appointments, prepare patient appointment lists, greet patients, confirm appointments, copy insurance cards, verify insurance coverage, identify and collect payments (deductibles, co-payments, deposits), provide receipts, complete accounting procedures, explain and satisfy signature requirements, and prepare charts. The role also involves point of service operations such as inspecting insurance cards, verifying and updating the common data set online, arranging care (stretchers, wheelchairs, interpreters, special needs), mailing information packets, providing personal reminders, obtaining and preparing OHSU medical records, and assisting with administrative clinic functions like filing, pulling charts, sending/faxing medical records, and mail distribution. Additionally, the PAS Specialist will arrange and order clinical, diagnostic, or laboratory services, obtain authorizations, direct patients to appropriate providers, complete and route referrals, contact primary care physicians for authorizations, schedule return appointments, and initiate authorization requests. Cash handling and billing duties include educating patients on billing issues, collecting co-payments and past due balances, providing receipts, performing end-of-day duties (batching, checking encounters, routing documentation), reconciling cash receipts, and maintaining the front office cash drawer.

Requirements

Six months of work experience in a medical office setting, including high volume direct patient contact OR one year of work experience in a high volume direct public contact position
Basic computer keyboarding skills including typing of 30 - 45 wpm.
Working knowledge of medical terminology.
Strong relationship building skills with patients, health plans, providers, staff, management.
Exceptional customer service skills - both in person and on the phone.
Exceptional interpersonal skills - able to resolve conflicts and to problem solve between parties.
Patient advocacy skills - evaluate patient concerns for timely resolution.
Sensitivity to patient needs.
Demonstrated evidence of strong written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to manage competing priorities.
Ability to meet deadlines and urgent patient and system needs.
Ability to work independently; willingness to serve as a positive and professional role model.
Must have demonstrated record of reliable attendance, punctuality and proven successful performance in past and present.

Nice To Haves

High School Diploma or GED preferred.
Medical office experience preferred.
Successful completion of a formal OHSU Administrative Internship Program will substitute for one year of experience.

Responsibilities

Triage phone calls, dispensing appropriately, including facilitation of prescription refills, consults, walk-ins and emergencies.
Provide high quality customer service to both external customers (patient, referring providers, and insurance carriers) and internal customers (OHSU health care providers and staff) that meets or exceeds the service standards of the health care industry.
Schedule new and return patient appointments, including residents and faculty, ancillaries and surgeries; prepare patient appointment list.
Greet patients and confirm that an appointment has been kept.
Copy insurance cards and/or authorization notices and verify insurance coverage.
Identify and collect deductible payments, co-payments, and deposits on services; provide receipts and complete necessary accounting procedures.
Explain and satisfy any necessary patient signature requirements.
Prepare charts for patient appointment, as desired by each physician.
Greet patients and confirm that an appointment has been kept.
Inspect insurance cards and/or authorization notices.
Identify and collect deductible payments, co-payments, and deposits on services; provide receipts and complete necessary accounting procedures.
Verify and update the common data set on-line.
Explain and satisfy any necessary patient signature requirements.
Prepare charts for patient appointment, as desired by each physician.
Schedule new patient appointments on line.
Obtain prior medical records and studies if appropriate.
Create a medical record if needed.
Arrange stretchers, wheelchairs, and interpreters when necessary, and accommodate other special needs whenever possible.
Mail information packets.
Provide personal reminders to patients about upcoming appointments.
Obtain and prepare OHSU medical records before scheduled appointments.
Assist Casey staff with supporting administrative clinic functions including filing and pulling patient charts, sending and faxing medical records when indicated, and assisting staff with mail distribution.
Arrange and order associated clinical, diagnostic, or laboratory services; obtain authorizations when necessary.
Direct patients to appropriate providers for other health care issues.
Complete and route direct referrals to other clinical services.
Contact primary care physicians or their designees to obtain authorizations for urgent care.
Schedule return appointments on line, and manually if necessary; initiate authorization requests for subsequent care.
Perform cash handling and billing duties in a timely and thorough manner.
Educating patients on related billing issues as appropriate.
Collecting co-payments and past due balances when indicated.
Providing patients with appropriate receipts per CEI procedures.
Performing end of day duties following CEI protocol and guidelines (batching out cash/checks/credit card, checking encounters for missing information, and giving appropriate documentation to designated area for posting).
Reconciling cash receipts per CEI policy and maintaining front office cash drawer as appropriate.