PATIENT ACCESS SPECIALIST I

Franciscan Medical Group•Edmonds, WA

4d•$25 - $36

About The Position

The Patient Access Specialist I manages administrative duties for the patient intake process in a clinic, following established guidelines. The role interacts with patients in person and by phone to support check-in and check-out, collect data and payments, validate insurance, schedule appointments, and process referrals and authorizations. Success in the role requires critical thinking, strong customer service, and knowledge of insurance, billing, and medical terminology to provide a seamless patient intake experience. The position answers patient calls about appointment scheduling and medication refills, schedules and reschedules visits, handles messages for clinic staff, and verifies insurance coverage. It also provides basic information within the scope of the position, resolves non-complex registration issues or escalates them, and arranges special or ancillary requirements such as transportation and interpreters.

Requirements

One year of customer service work experience.
No additional requirement upon hire is specified.

Nice To Haves

Healthcare environment experience.

Responsibilities

Answer incoming patient calls about scheduling appointments while meeting established call quantity and quality standards.
Schedule and reschedule clinic visits according to established standards and procedures, including authorized referrals for specialty clinics.
Use Epic Provider Vista to schedule appointments accurately and promptly, consult provider-specific scheduling guidelines and preferences, search multiple provider schedules, and cross-schedule with providers who have the earliest availability.
Apply knowledge of visit types to determine which appointments can be scheduled.
Provide basic information in response to patient questions within the scope of the position; ensure registration requirements are met, identify deficiencies, resolve non-complex issues, or escalate issues as appropriate.
Arrange special or ancillary patient requirements, including transportation and interpreters.
Answer patient calls requesting medication refills and send correctly formatted messages containing necessary information to office staff.
Use Epic smart phrases and patient chart information to identify the requested medication and pharmacy information.
Determine under established guidelines whether a provider appointment is needed to discuss a medication and schedule one when necessary.
When an appointment is not needed, confirm the medication request within the scope of the position and send it to the call-receiving clinic’s back office to initiate the refill as appropriate.
Verify insurance coverage at scheduling to support reimbursement and reduce eligibility denials.