Patient Access - Intake Specialist - Emergency Department

UNC Health•Rocky Mount, NC

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Patient Access Intake Specialist ensures patient access processing for Emergency, Observation, Inpatient, and Outpatient patient classes is performed according to procedure and documented accurately and promptly. The role supports clean claims and point-of-service collections while meeting departmental and organizational outcome targets. Duties include patient identification; arrival, admitting, and check-in procedures; scheduling; pre-registration and registration; insurance verification; authorization and pre-notification; and financially securing accounts in compliance with EMTALA. The specialist uses the hospital billing system (EPIC) and work queues to maintain accurate registration information, resolve registration-based claim edits, complete required documents, and support regulatory and financial compliance. The role also communicates administrative information to patients and families, adapts communication to patient needs, participates in quality assurance, and escalates issues that cannot be resolved independently. This is an onsite, per-diem position with a variable schedule at Nash UNC Health Care.

Requirements

High school diploma or GED.
Two years of experience in healthcare or medical admissions.
Patient financial services experience in a professional or healthcare setting.

Nice To Haves

Associate or bachelor's degree in arts or business.
Coursework in medical terminology or medical insurance.
Two to five years of prior experience in hospital operations management and/or revenue cycle.

Responsibilities

Verify registration information, insurance, patient and guarantor demographics, and department-based arrival, admitting, or check-in requirements; complete pre-notifications and authorizations; financially secure accounts; and support billing accuracy in compliance with EMTALA.
Identify complete outpatient physician orders, referrals, or posting sheets to support appropriate scheduling, medical-necessity requirements, and registration for the requested services and reasons.
Use system work queues to manage daily account-securing workflows, maintain compliance with required forms, resolve registration-based claim edits, and correct account information.
Identify patients using more than two identifiers and follow procedures for patient identification and armband placement without delaying care.
Use the price-estimation tool to provide patients with accurate estimates.
Process accepted payment methods accurately and promptly; reconcile and deposit daily cash and checks, provide receipts, maintain required reports, and meet targets for deposits, estimated amounts due, co-pays, and prior balances.
Accurately identify and armband patients, implement the unidentified-patient protocol when necessary, and enter accurate registration and demographic information in EPIC.
Provide appropriate administrative information and communicate with patients, families, parents, and caregivers in a manner suited to their developmental, educational, literacy, cultural, language, hearing, or visual needs.
Participate in departmental quality assurance by using work queues, reducing individual errors, and correcting registration issues.
Complete and document required governmental, regulatory, financial, and contractual forms, ensuring documents are legible and saved or scanned to the correct location.
Attempt to resolve daily registration-based issues and escalate those that cannot be resolved independently.
Follow departmental policies and procedures and perform other responsibilities as directed by leadership.