Patient Access Specialist

Northwestern Memorial Healthcare • Winfield, IL

8d • $18 - $28

About The Position

The Patient Access Specialist supports Northwestern Medicine’s patient-first mission by delivering customer service and assisting patients through scheduling, registration, and related access processes. The role follows NMHC’s mission, vision, values, Code of Ethics, Corporate Compliance Program, policies, procedures, and applicable regulatory and accreditation standards. It maintains patient confidentiality under HIPAA and avoids placing patients at financial or safety risk.

The specialist gathers and verifies patient demographic and registration information, schedules and directs patients, performs medical necessity checks, communicates appointment and financial-account issues, and provides out-of-pocket estimates when requested. The position coordinates with patients, physicians’ offices, hospital departments, scheduling staff, and other internal customers. It also verifies insurance eligibility and benefits, collects authorization information, uses online order systems, and documents accurately in Epic.

The role contributes to quality assurance and improvement, monitors registration and scheduling against standards, identifies and resolves account or service issues, and suggests process improvements. It provides training and workflow support to new staff and coworkers, may cross-train across departments, and adapts to changing business needs and healthcare policies. The position is 20 hours per week (0.5 FTE) on the night shift.

Requirements

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• 2–3 years of customer service or medical office experience.
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills.
• Ability to read, write, and communicate effectively in English.
• Proficiency in computer data entry and typing; ability to type 40 words per minute.
• Basic computer skills and ability to use computer applications efficiently for the role.
• Ability to multitask.
• Customer-service orientation.
• Excellent organizational, time-management, analytical, and problem-solving skills.

Nice To Haves

• Additional education.
• Additional language skills.
• Healthcare finance and/or healthcare insurance experience.
• Knowledge and experience in a healthcare setting, especially patient scheduling and/or registration.

Responsibilities

• Deliver patient-first customer service and foster a positive, collaborative team atmosphere.
• Respond to patient questions and concerns, resolve service breakdowns, and escalate extraordinary issues to a Team Lead or Operations Coordinator as needed.
• Maintain patient confidentiality in accordance with HIPAA and avoid creating patient financial or safety risks.
• Collect and verify patient demographic information and required registration data in accordance with organizational standards.
• Schedule appointments and coordinate with hospital departments and physicians’ offices to direct patients through NMHC systems.
• Contact patients to schedule appointments and perform medical necessity checks for scheduled services when needed.
• Communicate appointment issues, physician and insurance referral or consultation information, and options when an appointment cannot proceed as planned.
• Inform patients of issues securing the financial account for an encounter and complete out-of-pocket estimates when requested.
• Collect authorization numbers in the appropriate systems when applicable.
• Use online order retrieval systems to verify or print orders and online tools or telephone calls to verify insurance eligibility and benefit levels.
• Run real-time eligibility checks, follow applicable out-of-network policies, and document accurate handoff instructions and notes in Epic.
• Send clear, descriptive, grammatically correct Epic messages and telephone encounters.
• Double-check test type, preparation requirements, potential conflicts with other tests, time, location, order retrieval documentation, and duplicate patient records to prevent visit issues.
• Participate in quality assurance reviews and departmental quality-improvement activities; monitor registration, scheduling, and insurance verification against quality standards.
• Analyze account activity, identify problems, and initiate appropriate resolutions; adjust processes as needed to meet standards.
• Evaluate procedures and suggest improvements to customer service and operational efficiency.
• Use organizational and departmental resources efficiently and understand departmental and individual quality metrics.
• Train and educate as needed, support new staff, and share process and workflow information with coworkers.
• Communicate constructively across units and departments, support staff in direct patient-care departments, accommodate different communication abilities, and demonstrate teamwork.
• Manage work efficiently and complete tasks and assignments on time; adapt to shifting business needs and changes in healthcare policies.
• Attend intra- or interdepartmental meetings as needed, which may involve walking within the NM campus.
• Complete other duties as assigned by the manager.

Benefits

• Competitive benefits, including tuition reimbursement, loan forgiveness, and 401(k) matching.
• A wide range of benefits intended to support employees’ physical, emotional, and financial well-being and provide protection for unexpected life events.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Part-time
• Education Level: High school or GED