Patient Access Specialist I | North Ave Clinic

Monument Health Rapid City Hospital•Spearfish, SD

8d•Onsite

About The Position

The Patient Access Specialist I is responsible for front-end patient access and registration functions that support patient care and the revenue cycle. The role serves as a first point of contact for patients and provides service to patients, families, physicians, clinicians, and internal departments. No experience is necessary to begin a healthcare career in this position. The specialist collects and verifies patient and coverage information, supports financial clearance and point-of-service collections, helps patients complete required forms, and performs registration, scheduling, reception, and business office duties. The position also involves resolving or escalating account and registration issues, maintaining work queues, communicating with patients and departments, and assisting the clinical team as needed. Employees must attend required education, compliance, and safety sessions and follow applicable policies and procedures.

Requirements

No experience is necessary to begin a healthcare career in this position.
Ability to work assigned schedules and hours as determined by the department.
Ability to comply with the Attendance Policy and, when required, work beyond normal scheduled shifts.
Physical capacity for medium work: exert up to 10 pounds constantly, up to 25 pounds frequently, and up to 50 pounds occasionally or seldomly to move objects.
Possible exposure to blood, bodily fluids, or tissues.

Nice To Haves

High school diploma or GED equivalent.
At least 1 year of customer service experience.
At least 1 year of patient relations experience.
At least 1 year of medical patient accounts or financial services experience.

Responsibilities

Collect and verify patient demographics, identity, guarantor assignment, coverage information, and required check-in or admission documents across patient settings and communication methods.
Follow Revenue Cycle guidelines and participate in quality assurance and improvement activities.
Use knowledge of payer benefits and information, including Medicare, Medicaid, commercial payers, and third-party liability payers.
Collect prepayments, outstanding balances, copayments, and coinsurance, and reconcile the cash drawer daily.
Provide basic account reconciliation and cost estimates for scheduled services; escalate financial clearance needs appropriately.
Review authorization and referral records to confirm financial clearance.
Distribute and obtain required forms and signatures, including treatment consents, financial agreements, ABNs or waivers, and other regulatory forms; educate patients and maintain regulatory compliance.
Perform business office duties, including handling calls and messages, patient and intra-departmental communications, in-basket messages, scanning and faxing, taxi vouchers, mail distribution, and lost-and-found and safe-and-valuables tasks.
Provide reception, way-finding, and attentive, caring service that supports patients' emotional and physical needs and keeps them informed.
Obtain referrals and order transcription when applicable to the service area.
Schedule patients and complete check-out, manage pre-arrival tasks, and appropriately monitor wait lists and recall lists.
Maintain registration-related work queues and resolve errors on an ongoing basis.
Use the electronic medical record for functions such as advanced directives, release of information, patient portal proxy forms, and potentially patient movement activities.
Educate patients about the basic purpose and regulations of the patient portal, as applicable.
Address account inquiries and resolve or escalate them as appropriate.
Work beyond normal scheduled shifts when required and comply with the Attendance Policy.
Arrange patient transportation and other enabling services when needed.
Assist the clinical care team as needed, including providing transport in accordance with clinical team direction.
Attend mandatory education, compliance, and safety sessions; comply with current and future policies and procedures; report directly to the supervisor.
Perform other duties as assigned.