Patient Service Representative

Advocate Health•Park Ridge, IL

11d•$21 - $31

About The Position

The Patient Service Representative creates accurate initial electronic health records, verifies patient identity, and registers patients to support safe care and prevent duplicate records and billing issues. The role gathers and verifies demographic, guarantor, and insurance information; discusses and collects co-pays and other patient financial responsibilities; and safeguards confidential information in compliance with HIPAA. The representative applies knowledge of insurance plans, organizational contracts, financial responsibility requirements, and applicable healthcare regulations. The role obtains required patient or guarantor signatures and may schedule appointments or coordinate changes and provide patients with detailed preparation, arrival, and facility information. This position also provides welcoming, professional service to patients and visitors, responds to requests, answers and screens telephone calls, and coordinates assistance such as transportation, directions, wheelchairs, and interpreter services. The representative monitors assigned electronic health record work queues and follows department processes. The work takes place in an office environment with significant patient and public contact, potentially including exposure to ill or contagious patients. The position is part-time, 20 hours per week, with a Monday–Friday 2:00–10:30 p.m. schedule and alternating weekends.

Requirements

High school graduate.
Demonstrate Advocate Health's purpose, values, and behaviors.
Ability to work independently, set and meet deadlines, multitask, and prioritize in a high-stress, fast-paced environment with interruptions and large workloads.
Strong attention to detail and accuracy.
Excellent customer service and service recovery skills.
Independent thinking and problem-solving skills, including judgment to triage issues and concerns.
Excellent written and verbal communication, customer service, and interpersonal skills; ability to communicate professionally with patients, visitors, staff, and physicians.
Ability to explain insurance coverage and financial obligations to patients.
Ability to collect and manage payments, including cash handling.
Strong computer skills and technical proficiency.
Understanding of basic medical and insurance terms and abbreviations used in patient scheduling and registration.
Knowledge of HIPAA and applicable state and federal regulations; ability to handle sensitive information according to internal policies.
General understanding of Medicare, Medicaid, managed care, and commercial health insurance.
Ability to explain Medicare, HIPAA, and EMTALA rules and regulations and comply with updates to insurance pre-certification requirements.
Excellent organizational skills and ability to serve as a resource to other staff.
Ability to transition frequently between sitting and standing, remain seated or standing for extended periods, and be physically mobile throughout the workday.
Ability to lift frequently up to 10 pounds and occasionally 20 pounds or more, and push or pull up to 50 pounds with assistance.
Ability to use fine motor skills for keyboard data entry and to meet sensory requirements involving vision, hearing, touch, and clear speech.
Ability to work a flexible schedule at times to meet departmental needs.
Licensure, registration, and certification: none required.

Nice To Haves

Experience with insurance verification or eligibility tools, EPIC electronic medical records, patient liability estimation tools, email, Microsoft Office, internet browsers, and phone technology.
CPR certification may be required depending on service location.
Notary training or licensure may be required depending on service line or facility.

Responsibilities

Create accurate initial electronic health records and prevent duplicate medical records.
Verify patient identity using required identifiers before patient care.
Check in and register patients; obtain and verify demographic, guarantor, and insurance information.
Discuss and collect co-pays and other out-of-pocket patient responsibilities.
Maintain confidentiality of patient personal, financial, and medical information in accordance with HIPAA.
Apply knowledge of insurance plans, organizational contracts, financial responsibility requirements, and referrals to Financial Advocates.
Enforce applicable rules, forms, and questions required for compliance with government agencies and regulations, and obtain required patient or guarantor signatures.
May schedule appointments and coordinate cancellations, rescheduling, wait-list requests, and recall requests.
Provide patients with accurate information about test preparation, arrival times, medication and food or beverage guidelines, check-in procedures, and facility directions.
Create a welcoming and professional environment and provide customer service to patients and visitors.
Answer telephones, screen calls, take messages, and respond to routine requests for information.
Arrange or coordinate patient assistance, including transportation, directions, wheelchairs, and interpreter services.
Monitor and work assigned electronic health record work queues according to approved departmental processes.
Educate patients about insurance coverage and services that may not be paid by their health plan.
Interact with physicians and their staff to resolve issues related to patient care.
Collect and manage payments, including cash, and follow cash-handling security procedures.
Respond quickly to patient medical status changes and emergencies in clerical areas.
Escort patients to nursing units or outpatient departments as necessary.

Benefits

Paid time off programs.
Medical, dental, vision, life, and short- and long-term disability benefits.
Flexible Spending Accounts for eligible health care and dependent care expenses.
Adoption assistance and paid parental leave.
Defined contribution retirement plans with employer match and other financial wellness programs.
Educational Assistance Program.
Potential premium pay, including shift and on-call pay, based on the position.
Incentive pay for select positions.
Opportunity for annual performance-based increases.
Competitive compensation and career development programs.