Patient Office Assistant

Harlem United Community AIDS Center Inc•New York, NY

6d•$22 - $24

About The Position

Harlem United is the parent company for Upper Room AIDS Ministry (URAM), which provides healthcare services through a Federally Qualified Health Center in Harlem. The center offers primary, specialty, dental, and wellness care. Employees are responsible for practicing good risk management and quality assurance and providing excellent internal and external customer service. The Patient Office Assistant performs customer service duties, responds to inquiries, and provides information about URAM and its services in accordance with legal guidelines and agency policies. The role’s primary focus is clinic intake and registration, including insurance verification, fee assessment, cashiering, presumptive Medicaid eligibility, referrals, appointment scheduling, and data entry. The position routinely accesses individually identifiable health information, including clients’ medical records, on a need-to-know basis. The role also supports patient check-in and check-out, maintains accurate patient and visit records, handles phone calls and messages, manages provider schedules, helps patients understand coverage and payment policies, maintains cash-drawer accuracy, supports referrals and patient portal enrollment, and participates in departmental continuous quality improvement activities. Additional duties may be assigned by a supervisor to support the organization’s mission.

Requirements

Minimum associate degree in a healthcare-related program or equivalent healthcare-related college credits.
Five years of experience in a medical or dental office.
Three years of experience with managed care requirements and medical billing.
Strong customer-service skills, including assessing customer needs, meeting quality standards, and evaluating customer service.
Ability to communicate and interact professionally and courteously.
Strong organization and attention to detail.
Ability to write simple correspondence and present information in one-on-one and small-group settings.
Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, proportions, and percentages.
Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, instructions, and procedure manuals.
Ability to input data accurately and efficiently on a computer terminal.
Knowledge of common office equipment.
Ability to work effectively as a team member.
Willingness to accommodate provider services outside normal business hours.
Ability to lift and/or move more than 50 pounds; perform a full range of body motion, including handling and lifting patients; and maintain manual and finger dexterity and eye-hand coordination.
Ability to sit, stand, and walk for extensive periods and frequently reach with hands and arms.
Vision abilities including close, distance, color, and peripheral vision, depth perception, and adjustment of focus.
Ability to work in a moderate-noise environment.

Nice To Haves

Certificate in a healthcare discipline, such as medical office assistant or medical billing.
Basic computer skills, including Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook.
Experience with electronic medical records; eClinicalWorks and Dentrix are preferred.
Experience working with the HIV/AIDS population.
Superior written and verbal communication skills.
Bilingual English/Spanish or English/French.

Responsibilities

Provide excellent customer service and warmly greet patients.
Check patients in and out, process cancellations and rescheduling, review alerts, and arrange follow-up or recall appointments.
Verify patient demographics, insurance, homeless status, visit status, and other client and visit data for accuracy.
Enter demographics and insurance information into the electronic medical record and scan required documents.
Prepare huddle sheets and attend daily huddles.
Notify patients when wait times exceed one hour, communicate delays, and complete new-patient welcome calls.
Answer telephones, direct calls, and take accurate messages.
Determine the nature of patient visits and follow appropriate processes.
Maintain and correct provider daily schedules as needed and schedule appointments.
Register new patients and obtain required information and documentation; provide introductory materials to new patients.
Confirm whether referrals are needed and whether patients are eligible; follow up to determine whether referral appointments were kept.
Verify insurance coverage for appointments and assist patients with coverage questions and prior authorizations when necessary.
Explain health center policies, payment of accounts, and fees under the sliding fee schedule.
Disseminate information to clients, staff, and others as appropriate.
Ensure client forms and documents are completed and validated, including regular information updates; complete HIPAA forms and create and maintain electronic patient records and chart numbers.
Release fax materials and distribute them to team members.
Promote and enroll patients in the patient portal, Healthix, and ADAP.
Refer clients to the referral specialist when additional information or assistance is needed.
Collect, document, and disburse patient revenue, including credit card payments; reconcile the cash drawer daily.
Notify patients of outstanding balances and arrange payment plans.
Communicate important messages to patients and offer available organizational services and resources.
Listen to and handle complaints or issues and escalate them to a supervisor when appropriate.
Facilitate completion of waiting-room surveys and assessments.
Obtain simple insurance pre-authorizations.
Participate actively in departmental CQI activities.
Promote linkages with other service providers, as assigned.
Establish and maintain archive and active case records, and prepare data for reports, as assigned.
Refer walk-in sick patients to a nurse for appropriate triage and prioritization, as assigned.
Perform other duties deemed necessary to achieve the organization’s mission.