Patient Access Rep I - WMCG - Imaging

Wellstar Health System

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Patient Access Rep I is typically the first point of contact for patients and visitors and is responsible for creating a pleasant, professional experience. The role gathers and enters accurate patient demographic, financial, and insurance information; verifies insurance benefits and eligibility; completes registration and pre-admission arrangements; obtains required signatures and consents; and supports scheduling and patient preparation for procedures. The representative also answers questions, provides hospital information and directions, handles patient concerns, maintains confidential records, and coordinates patient movement to procedure areas or rooms. The position supports financial operations by estimating and collecting patient liabilities, explaining financial policies, establishing payment arrangements, documenting collection activity, and referring patients to financial assistance resources when appropriate. It works with patients, guarantors, physicians’ offices, and hospital departments to resolve registration errors, account issues, and payer denials. The role requires compliance with Wellstar policies, patient privacy requirements, service standards, and mandatory training. The schedule is 8:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m. on the day shift, with flexibility for weekends.

Requirements

High school diploma or GED required; an associate degree is preferred.
At least one year of experience in a healthcare or institutional (corporate) work setting.
Computer and data-entry experience.
Ability to communicate with various members of the healthcare team.
Effective written and verbal communication skills, attention to detail, self-direction, and a positive attitude.
Effective problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.
Complete Patient Access Services Operations Onboarding Training and achieve a passing score on the final exam within 45 days of hire; failure to pass means the employee no longer meets the minimum requirement, with the option to discuss other available health system positions with a Talent Acquisition Specialist.

Nice To Haves

Associate degree.
Working knowledge of patient registration systems.
Intermediate Microsoft Office Suite skills.
Epic experience.

Responsibilities

Receive patient scheduling requests from physicians’ offices, arrange pre-admission details, and advise offices about unavailable dates.
Interview patients or their representatives to obtain accurate demographic, financial, and insurance information.
Enter, correct, and update patient information in registration systems and accounts.
Obtain required signatures, consents, attestations, and payer-specific forms.
Review physician orders to determine requested procedures and provide patient instructions.
Escort patients or arrange escorts to procedure areas and assigned rooms.
Obtain new medical record numbers for newborn admissions and other new patients.
Document explanatory notes for non-routine account circumstances and special billing processes.
Maintain knowledge of information systems and perform required system applications.
Apply Wellstar and Patient Access Services policies and procedures, including admission, outpatient, and emergency registration processes.
Maintain confidentiality of patient information in accordance with policy and HIPAA regulations.
Organize and prioritize work, maintain data-entry proficiency, and complete work productively without creating backlogs.
Assist physicians’ offices with scheduling, pre-admission, Medicaid screening, and pre-certification.
Resolve errors and items in applicable Claim, DNB, and Patient Work Queues; complete appropriate work queue issues and address payer denials as indicated.
Greet guests professionally, answer incoming calls, and follow through on requests.
Receive patients’ valuables for safekeeping in the hospital safe.
Maintain courteous and cooperative relationships with patients, families, physicians, coworkers, management, and the public, including tactfully handling difficult situations.
Present a well-groomed, professional image consistent with department and hospital dress codes.
Attempt to collect estimated self-pay balances for inpatient, outpatient, and emergency accounts at the earliest appropriate point.
Monitor in-house accounts and arrange payment of self-pay balances before discharge or within ten working days thereafter.
Complete financial evaluation forms documenting guarantors’ income, expenses, assets, and liabilities.
Identify patients with inadequate insurance, assess ability to pay non-covered charges, and determine potential eligibility for financial assistance such as Medicaid.
Maintain information about financial assistance programs and eligibility requirements, and refer patients or guarantors to outside funding resources as needed.
Contact scheduled patients at home to obtain pre-admission information, explain financial policies, estimate self-pay balances, and obtain a promise to pay by admission or registration.
Interview inpatients and selected self-pay outpatients at registration or within 24 hours of admission to verify insurance and financial information, explain policies, and collect estimated self-pay balances.
Document collection efforts, patient or guarantor interactions, self-pay activity, and Medicaid referrals.
Coordinate financial counseling with Admitting, Outpatient Registration, Emergency Registration, Utilization Review, Nursing, Social Services, and Patient Financial Services.
Verify insurance coverage and benefits; work efficiently and accurately within designated time frames to support continuity of information and cash flow.
Exceed monthly collection quotas consistently and report self-pay collection results to the direct supervisor as required.
Provide feedback to Patient Access Services management about collection activity and data integrity issues.
Observe work hours and provide proper notice of absences, tardiness, or schedule changes.
Attend departmental meetings as requested and complete required monthly, quarterly, and annual training.
Perform other assigned duties and comply with Wellstar Health System policies, standards of work, and code of conduct.