Patient Access Specialist

Emerus•Aubrey, TX

About The Position

The Patient Access Specialist serves as a liaison among patients and families, payers, Patient Financial Services, and other members of the healthcare team. The role supports patient tracking and billing by obtaining and verifying complete, accurate demographic information, financially securing accounts, and collecting guarantors’ out-of-pocket responsibility to maximize hospital reimbursement. The position is based in a 16-bed small-format hospital with eight emergency department beds and eight inpatient beds. The listed schedule is a night shift from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. The specialist supports patient registration, insurance verification and authorizations, collections, records management, patient transfers, and customer service while maintaining compliance with applicable hospital and government requirements.

Requirements

High school diploma or GED.
Knowledge of various insurance plans and payers, including HMO, PPO, POS, Medicare, and Medicaid.
Basic understanding of medical terminology.
Excellent customer service skills.
Fluency in English, including written and oral communication.
In the El Paso market, fluency in both English and Spanish is required.
For Pennsylvania candidates, Act 33 (Child Abuse History Clearance) and Act 73 (FBI Fingerprint Criminal History Clearance) must have been completed within the last five years or be obtained before the start date.

Nice To Haves

Two years of patient registration and insurance verification experience in a healthcare setting.
Emergency Department registration experience.
Strong working knowledge of MS Office, including Word, Excel, and Outlook.

Responsibilities

Comply with EMTALA, DNV, HIPAA, and other hospital and government regulations applicable to admissions and medical records.
Provide excellent customer service by meeting customer needs, understanding who customers are, and building quality relationships.
Help protect patient safety by ensuring each patient is properly identified and triaged upon arrival.
Answer telephone calls professionally and courteously, record messages, and communicate them to appropriate medical staff.
Provide and obtain signatures on required forms and consents.
Obtain, verify, and enter complete and accurate demographic information on all accounts to support revenue-cycle processing.
Verify insurance benefits for all plans associated with each patient and ensure the correct payer and plan are entered in the patient accounting system.
Obtain insurance authorizations when required by individual insurance plans.
Pursue collections at the time of service in a customer-service-oriented manner.
Scan registration and clinical documentation into the system and maintain medical records.
Assist with coordinating patient transfers to other hospitals when necessary.
Respond to medical-record requests from patients, physicians, and hospitals.
Maintain the cash drawer according to policies.
Maintain logs of patients, payments received, transfers, and hospital admissions.
Maintain the visitor and vendor log.
Maintain a clean facility working environment, including the front desk, restroom, waiting room, break area, and patient rooms when medical staff need assistance.
Receive deliveries, including mail from various carriers, and forward them to the appropriate departments.
Notify the appropriate contact about malfunctioning equipment or maintenance needs.
Attend staff meetings and other company-sponsored or mandated meetings as required.
Assist medical staff as needed.
Perform additional duties as assigned.