Patient Access Specialist - Full-Time Day Shift

Northwestern Memorial Healthcare • Evanston, IL

11d • $18 - $28

About The Position

The Patient Access Specialist reflects Northwestern Medicine’s mission, vision, and values, follows its Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with applicable policies, procedures, regulatory requirements, and accreditation standards. The role provides patient-focused customer service while supporting patient scheduling, registration, insurance verification, and related access processes. It interacts with patients, hospital departments, and physicians’ offices to guide patients through Northwestern Medicine systems, resolve concerns, and help ensure accurate patient and account information.

The specialist uses Epic and other online systems to retrieve orders, verify eligibility and benefits, document communications, and support scheduling and registration. The role also contributes to quality assurance, process improvement, staff training, and operational coverage across departments. The stated schedule is Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Wednesday from 10:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.; the position is 40 hours per week.

Requirements

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Two to three 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, with the ability to type 40 words per minute.
• Basic computer skills and ability to use computer applications efficiently.
• 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 of and experience in a healthcare setting, especially patient scheduling and/or registration.

Responsibilities

• Provide consistently exceptional, patient-first customer service and foster a collaborative team atmosphere.
• Respond to patient questions and concerns, escalate extraordinary issues to the Team Lead or Operations Coordinator, and communicate customer satisfaction issues to appropriate individuals.
• Maintain patient confidentiality in accordance with HIPAA regulations and avoid placing patients at financial or safety risk.
• Accurately identify patients, collect and verify demographic and registration information, and maintain the integrity of patient data.
• Interact with hospital departments and physicians’ offices to schedule and direct patients through Northwestern Medicine systems.
• Contact patients to schedule appointments and communicate information about physician referrals, insurance referrals, and consultations.
• Perform medical necessity checks as needed, communicate options when an appointment fails those checks, and inform patients about issues securing a financial account.
• Provide out-of-pocket cost estimates when requested and collect authorization numbers in applicable systems.
• Use online order retrieval systems to verify or print patient orders; verify insurance eligibility and benefits using online tools or by phone; and run real-time eligibility checks.
• Document accurate handoff instructions and notes for scheduling staff in Epic, and send clear, descriptive, grammatically correct Epic messages and telephone encounters.
• Proactively check visit details, including test type, preparation requirements, potential test conflicts, appointment time and location, order retrieval documentation, and duplicate patient records.
• Complete registration by collecting and verifying the required minimum data set and updating information in the registration system.
• Monitor registration, scheduling, and insurance verification for compliance with quality standards; understand quality metrics and take appropriate action to address account issues.
• Participate in quality assurance reviews and departmental quality improvement activities, evaluate procedures, and suggest process improvements.
• Use department and hospital policies, procedures, and resources efficiently, and adjust processes as needed to meet standards.
• Provide training and education as needed, serve as a resource for new staff and coworkers, and cross-train between departments to support coverage.
• Manage work schedules and assignments efficiently, adapt to changes in business needs and healthcare policies, and complete other duties assigned by the manager.
• Communicate professionally across units and departments, resolve operational issues, accommodate different communication abilities and styles, and support staff in departments providing direct patient care.
• Attend intra- or interdepartmental meetings as needed, which may involve walking within the Northwestern Medicine campus.

Benefits

• Tuition reimbursement.
• Loan forgiveness.
• 401(k) matching.
• Benefits intended to support employees’ physical, emotional, and financial well-being and provide protection for unexpected life events.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: High school or GED