Patient Access Specialist (On-Site)

University of Miami•Fort Lauderdale, FL

6d•Onsite

About The Position

The Patient Access Specialist coordinates complex front-end revenue-cycle and clinic-support functions for hospital and clinic operations, supporting the patient experience from pre-arrival through post-discharge. The role gathers, verifies, and enters demographic, financial, and clinical information; confirms insurance eligibility and benefits; obtains authorizations, pre-certifications, and referrals; communicates patient financial responsibility; and collects payments. It also supports patient check-in and check-out, scheduling coordination, consent and regulatory-document completion, cash handling, queue management, and patient use of self-service technology. The specialist serves as a functional expert and lead resource for Patient Access and lower-level Patient Services staff, supports training, and assists with monitoring productivity and quality. The role requires navigating multiple systems, resolving complex operational issues, handling high volumes of calls and transactions, and collaborating with patients, families, providers, schedulers, and other clinical and non-clinical teams. Depending on the assigned area, responsibilities may include emergency-room or admitting support, clinic operations, or remote-based call-center functions. This is an on-site, full-time staff position. Some assigned areas involve rotating or on-call schedules, evenings, weekends, holidays, and after-hours work.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent.
Minimum of 3 years of relevant experience.
Skill in accurate data entry and completing assignments with attention to detail.
Effective oral and written communication skills.
Ability to handle confidential information with discretion.
Ability to analyze, organize, and prioritize work under pressure while meeting deadlines.
Strong interpersonal and customer-service skills and commitment to service excellence.
Ability to handle multiple tasks, software systems, and technologies simultaneously and adapt quickly to new systems.
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with patients and staff, including people of varied ages and cultural backgrounds.
Knowledge of generally accepted accounting procedures and principles; strong mathematical and cash-management skills.
Ability to plan, organize, measure, and integrate priorities and deadlines.
Knowledge of healthcare regulatory guidelines and compliance requirements, including OSHA, HIPAA, JC, AHCA, EMTALA, and CMS.
Critical-thinking and analytical skills to evaluate system requirements, recommend improvements, and resolve operational problems.
Ability to examine and reengineer operations and procedures and develop or implement strategies and procedures.
Ability to anticipate and react calmly in emergencies and handle difficult or stressful situations with professional composure.
Ability to maintain collaborative relationships with clinical and non-clinical teams and to inspire, influence, and motivate team members onsite and remotely.
Availability 30 minutes before opening and after clinic ends, with hours varying by clinic and provider; flexibility to meet departmental needs, including during disastrous events.
For ER assignments, flexibility for rotating schedules, evenings, weekends, and holidays; ability to perform applicable ADT functions after hours; adherence to PPE requirements; proficient knowledge of the ASAP module.
For admitting assignments, availability for on-call and rotating evening, weekend, and holiday schedules; proficient knowledge of the ADT module.
Any relevant education, certifications, and/or work experience may be considered.

Responsibilities

Obtain, confirm, and accurately enter demographic, financial, and clinical information needed for financial clearance and patient access.
Contact patients, families, physicians’ offices, and other parties to obtain missing insurance or patient information.
Verify insurance eligibility and benefits, communicate eligibility issues, and provide health-plan admission notifications when required.
Obtain authorizations, pre-certifications, and referrals; coordinate pre-service validation and financial clearance.
Notify patients of financial liabilities, explain benefits and estimates, provide financial counseling, and collect payments.
Maintain accurate records, files, documentation, work queues, and pre-admissions logs in applicable systems.
Coordinate add-on patients and complex follow-up care with scheduling departments, providers, and clinical schedulers.
Facilitate patient understanding and acknowledgment of required consents, assignment of benefits, notices, and regulatory documents; collect and scan pertinent documents.
Assist patients with self-service technology in person or remotely, and support check-in and check-out clinic flow.
Handle high volumes of inbound and outbound calls and respond to inquiries through phone, email, web messages, and fax.
Process transactions quickly and accurately, handle currency, reconcile cash drawers at end of day, and prepare bank deposits.
Serve as a lead resource and functional expert for Patient Access and Patient Services staff; provide on-the-job training and recommend approaches to improve performance and productivity.
Assist in monitoring staff productivity and quality through review of key performance indicators; work toward established measures for collections, patient satisfaction, accuracy, and processing time.
Identify, analyze, and interpret complex data; resolve operational problems and provide management with updates on progress and changes in scope, schedule, and resources.
Collaborate with clinical and non-clinical teams to support a seamless patient experience and maintain effective working relationships.
For emergency-room assignments, support ER operations, perform applicable ADT functions after hours, and follow required PPE practices.
For admitting assignments, coordinate with bed control, the Transfer Center, providers, nursing units, and utilization review; process admissions orders and complete applicable admission documentation.
Perform other duties as assigned.