Patient Access Specialist

Northwestern Memorial Healthcare • Geneva, IL

8d • $18 - $28

About The Position

The Patient Access Specialist supports Northwestern Medicine’s patient-first mission by providing customer service and coordinating patient access, scheduling, registration, and insurance-related processes. The role follows NMHC’s Code of Ethics, Corporate Compliance Program, organizational policies, and applicable regulatory and accreditation standards, while protecting patient confidentiality under HIPAA.

The specialist collects and verifies patient demographic and registration information, schedules and directs patients, checks medical necessity and insurance eligibility, gathers applicable authorization information, and communicates financial-account or appointment issues to patients. The position uses Epic and other online systems to retrieve orders, document notes and handoffs, verify benefits, and support accurate scheduling and registration. It also contributes to quality assurance, process improvement, staff training, and effective collaboration across departments. Cross-training may occur between departments to ensure coverage, and schedules may change to reflect business needs.

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 position.
• 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

• Provide patient-focused customer service and respond to questions and concerns, escalating extraordinary issues when needed.
• Maintain patient confidentiality in accordance with HIPAA regulations.
• Collect and verify patient demographic information and required registration data; update information in the registration system and help prevent duplicate patient records.
• Interact with hospital departments and physician offices to schedule and direct patients through NMHC systems, including outreach to patients to schedule appointments.
• Perform medical necessity checks for scheduled services and communicate options when an appointment does not meet requirements.
• Inform patients about issues securing the financial account for an encounter and complete out-of-pocket estimates when requested.
• Communicate information about physician referrals, insurance referrals, and consultations; collect authorization numbers in applicable systems.
• Verify insurance eligibility and benefit levels using online tools or by telephone, run real-time eligibility checks, and follow applicable out-of-network policies.
• Use online order retrieval systems to verify or print patient orders and document order retrieval and handoff instructions in Epic.
• Send accurate, descriptive, and grammatically correct Epic messages and telephone encounters.
• Double-check tests, preparation requirements, scheduling conflicts, times, locations, and other details to prevent problems with patient visits.
• Monitor registration, scheduling, and insurance verification for compliance with quality standards; adjust processes as needed.
• Analyze account activity, identify problems, and initiate appropriate resolutions while avoiding patient financial or safety risks.
• Participate in quality assurance reviews and departmental quality-improvement activities.
• Evaluate procedures and suggest improvements to customer service and operational efficiency.
• Use departmental resources efficiently and understand departmental and individual quality metrics.
• Provide training and education as needed; serve as a resource for new staff and coworkers on processes and workflows.
• Collaborate across units and departments, support staff in direct patient-care departments, and help coworkers as needed.
• Use service-recovery skills to resolve problems or service breakdowns and communicate customer-satisfaction issues to appropriate individuals.
• Manage work schedules and assignments efficiently, complete tasks on time, follow department policies and compliance requirements, and perform other duties as assigned.
• Adapt to changing healthcare policies and business needs; cross-train between departments to support coverage.
• May attend intra- or interdepartmental meetings that involve walking within the NM Campus.

Benefits

• Northwestern Medicine describes a range of benefits supporting physical, emotional, and financial well-being and protection for unexpected life events; detailed benefits and eligibility depend on employment classification.
• Tuition reimbursement.
• Loan forgiveness.
• 401(k) matching.

What This Job Offers

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