Patient Access Specialist, Overnights

Northwestern Memorial Healthcare • Lake Forest, IL

2d • $18 - $28

About The Position

The Patient Access Specialist supports patient access and registration functions while reflecting Northwestern Medicine’s patient-first mission, vision, and values and complying with organizational policies, regulatory requirements, and accreditation standards. The role provides a positive first impression, answers patient questions, gathers and verifies registration and demographic information, supports scheduling, and helps patients navigate financial, insurance, referral, and appointment-related matters.

The specialist works with patients, physicians’ offices, hospital departments, and scheduling staff; uses Epic and other online systems to retrieve orders, verify insurance eligibility, document communications, and support accurate handoffs; and helps prevent issues that may affect patient visits. The role also contributes to quality assurance and improvement, supports coworkers and new staff, and adapts to changing departmental needs. Cross-training between departments is expected to support coverage. This position is an overnight/night-shift role, scheduled for 40 hours per week (1.0 FTE).

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-first customer service and respond to questions and concerns, escalating extraordinary issues to a Team Lead or Operations Coordinator as appropriate.
• Maintain patient confidentiality in accordance with HIPAA and follow organizational, departmental, regulatory, and compliance policies.
• Collect and verify patient demographic and registration information, including the minimum data set required for complete registration, and prevent duplicate patient records.
• Interact with hospital departments and physicians’ offices to schedule and direct patients through Northwestern Medicine systems.
• Contact patients to schedule appointments and communicate about physician referrals, insurance referrals, consultations, and appointment issues.
• Perform medical necessity checks as needed and communicate options when an appointment does not meet requirements.
• Inform patients of issues securing a financial account and complete out-of-pocket estimates when requested.
• Collect authorization numbers in applicable systems and verify insurance eligibility and benefit levels using online tools or telephone calls.
• Use multiple online order retrieval systems to verify or print patient orders; run real-time eligibility checks and follow out-of-network policies.
• Create accurate handoff instructions and notes in Epic, including clear, descriptive, grammatically correct messages and telephone encounters.
• Double-check test types, preparation requirements, conflicts with other tests, appointment time and location, order documentation, and other details to help prevent visit issues.
• Monitor registration, scheduling, and insurance verification to ensure work meets quality standards; analyze account activity and initiate appropriate resolutions.
• Participate in Quality Assurance reviews and departmental quality-improvement activities, evaluate procedures, and suggest process improvements.
• Use effective service recovery skills and communicate customer-satisfaction issues to appropriate individuals.
• Collaborate across departments, support internal customers and patient-care staff, help coworkers, and contribute to a professional and constructive communication environment.
• Provide training and education as needed, act as a resource for new staff and coworkers, and share workflow information.
• Manage schedules and assignments efficiently, use resources effectively, and adapt to changing business needs and healthcare policies.
• Attend intra- or interdepartmental meetings as needed; meetings may involve walking within the NM campus.
• Complete other duties assigned by management.

Benefits

• The employer describes a broad benefits offering to support physical, emotional, and financial well-being and protection against unexpected life events; details are provided through the linked benefits information.
• Tuition reimbursement.
• Loan forgiveness.
• 401(k) matching.
• Lifecycle benefits.

What This Job Offers

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