Patient Registrar

Mercyhealth•Freeport, IL

About The Position

The Patient Registrar supports patient access and registration across emergency, urgent care, inpatient, and outpatient settings. The role provides compassionate, professional service in a fast-paced healthcare environment while ensuring accurate patient identification, registration, insurance, and billing information. The registrar coordinates with patients, families, clinical staff, other departments, and outside emergency medical services to support efficient operations and patient care. This position works 36 hours per week on the night shift. It requires sound judgment in demanding situations, flexibility to respond to changing work volume and duties, and the ability to work independently and collaboratively. The role may require alternate shifts, weekends, and overtime during peak periods. The position has no supervisory responsibilities.

Requirements

High school graduate or equivalent preferred.
One to two years of customer service experience required.
Knowledge of computer systems, including navigation, typing, and data entry.
Detail-oriented, with strong oral and written communication skills.
Strong problem-solving, conflict-management, time-management, and stress-management skills in demanding situations.
Ability to use good judgment and independent decision-making within standard practices and procedures.
Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a team environment.
Interpersonal skills to obtain information from patients and communicate it to partners and providers.
Willingness to try new ideas, a positive attitude, and a sense of urgency.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of third-party payors.
Knowledge of medical terminology.
EPIC knowledge.

Responsibilities

Greet patients, visitors, and customers warmly and assist with their needs, including handling difficult interactions calmly and using service recovery skills.
Participate in team-building, continuous quality improvement, educational activities, and departmental or Mercyhealth initiatives; provide shadowing and training to new partners.
Register and arrive patients for emergency department, urgent care, hospital outpatient, laboratory, surgical, and direct-admission services; perform pre-admission and pre-registration functions.
Assess apparent patient urgency at registration, prioritize registration by symptom severity, monitor waiting areas for changes in patient condition, and alert the triage RN when reassessment may be needed.
Use required patient identifiers to select the correct electronic medical record and enter complaints, symptoms, arrival information, and other required data.
Generate patient armbands, face sheets, and labels, and verify information before applying armbands, including in urgent or chaotic situations.
Collect and enter demographic, guarantor, and billing information in EPIC; obtain required signatures and documents; verify and update insurance information; identify primary and secondary payees; and complete Medicare Secondary Payer Questionnaires when required.
Identify out-of-network and uninsured patients, complete applicable paperwork and account notes, and coordinate with appropriate emergency department partners and patient financial counselors.
Collect applicable copayments, self-pay payments, and, when required, prepayments; maintain, close, and balance the cash drawer according to policy.
Coordinate patient placement into the appropriate unit and notify other departments and hospital locations of patient arrivals; assist outside EMS/EMT agencies with patient arrivals and billing paperwork.
Provide admission information, including VIP folders as needed, obtain required Medicare admission signatures within the required timeframe, and secure and return patient valuables according to policy.
Support hospital staff during EPIC downtime or disaster mode and assist nursing staff with transportation vouchers and transportation service payments.
Manage work queues and registration errors to support timely billing; answer, return, transfer, and make telephone calls as needed.
Determine when interpreter services are needed and use them effectively.
Monitor security cameras and door-entry systems, communicate relevant information to appropriate staff, and respond to questions or concerns or direct them to the appropriate resource.
Complete travel screening questionnaires for patients, visitors, and customers; track visitors as appropriate under current hospital guidelines; provide directions or escort people to the correct area.
Communicate clearly and promptly with leadership, charge nurses, physicians, and partners; report unusual occurrences or situations requiring leadership attention.
Use organizational and departmental resources efficiently, follow local, state, and federal healthcare regulations, and perform light cleaning in registration, lobby, and waiting areas.
Complete required educational courses, manage the work schedule to complete assignments on time, remain flexible to meet changing needs, and perform other duties as assigned.