Patient Services - Patient Services Lead

San Diego Community Health Center•San Diego, CA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Patient Services Representative Lead (PSR Lead) plays a pivotal role in ensuring seamless patient access to high-quality medical, behavioral health, and dental services at San Diego Community Health Center. As a working leader, the PSR Lead serves as a critical liaison between patients, staff, and leadership, fostering an environment of exceptional customer service, operational efficiency, and cultural sensitivity. The PSR Lead acts as the role model for answering calls, scheduling appointments, checking eligibility, engaging patients, promoting patient access tools and ensuring patients do not experience barriers in accessing care. Additionally, the PSR Lead ensures adherence to organizational policies, best practices, and regulatory requirements. This role actively contributes to identifying opportunities for process improvements, enhancing patient experiences, and ensuring all administrative, scheduling, and financial processes are executed accurately and efficiently. With a focus on collaboration, patient-centered care, and continuous quality improvement, the PSR Lead supports SDCC’s mission to provide compassionate, culturally competent care to the American Indian/Alaska Native community and all individuals who seek care.

Requirements

High School Diploma or GED.
Minimum of 3 years’ experience as a Patient Service Representative or equivalent healthcare access role.
Demonstrated proficiency in appointment scheduling, insurance verification, and EHR systems.
CPR/ BLS certification: Maintain a current Basic Life Support (BLS) certification issued by the American Heart Association (AHA), the American Red Cross, or an equivalent organization. Certification must include an in-person, hands-on skills assessment. Online-only certifications are not accepted.
Annual background checks: Consent to annual background checks as a condition of continued employment, to ensure compliance with organizational standards and eligibility requirements.
For-Cause Drug Screening: Comply with drug screening requirements when initiated by the organization for cause, to support a safe, compliant, and drug-free workplace.
Ongoing Compliance Requirements: Maintain up-to-date compliance with all required annual renewals, including professional licenses, certifications, physical examinations, TB testing, and mandatory regulatory trainings as assigned by the San Diego Community Health Center (SDCHC).
Strong leadership presence without direct supervisory authority.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
High level of organization, accuracy, and attention to detail.
Ability to multitask, prioritize, and adapt in a fast-paced environment.
Strong problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.
Ability to maintain confidentiality and compliance at all times.
Demonstrated flexibility and willingness to perform duties as assigned.
Ability to lift and carry up to 10 pounds occasionally.
Ability to sit, stand, and walk for extended periods throughout the workday.
Manual dexterity required for the operation of office equipment, computer systems, and document handling.
Ability to engage with patients and staff both in-person and via phone or video.
Consistently supports and aligns with the Mission, Vision, and core values of SDCHC.
Delivers exceptional service in accordance with SDCHC’s customer service standards.
Engages in ongoing customer service training to enhance skills and performance.
Actively contributes to the organization’s success by participating in quality improvement initiatives.
Adheres to SDCHC policies and procedures, while proactively supporting new initiatives.
Ensures adherence to safety policies, including infection control protocols.
Immediately reports any unsafe working conditions.
Maintains confidentiality of patient, employee, and volunteer information.
Complies with corporate integrity, security requirements, and upholds ethical standards.

Nice To Haves

FQHC or Community Health Center experience.
Experience serving diverse, multicultural populations.
eClinicalWorks (eCW) experience.
Prior experience serving in a lead or mentor capacity.

Responsibilities

Serve as a working lead by actively performing all Patient Service Representative functions, including managing inbound and outbound calls, patient check-in/check-out, scheduling, registration, and insurance verification, while providing real-time support to frontline PSRs.
Act as the first point of contact for day-to-day workflow questions, system navigation support, and scheduling guidance, ensuring continuity of operations while remaining patient-facing.
Maintain a consistent presence on the phones and front desk, assisting with call volume, access demands, and patient flow during peak periods or staffing gaps.
Orient applicable new hires on training standards, scripts, workflows, and customer service expectations through hands-on coaching and modeling during live patient interactions.
Reinforce training standards, scripts, workflows, and customer service expectations through hands-on coaching and modeling during live patient interactions.
Monitor daily access and front desk indicators (e.g., call volumes, abandonment trends, schedule utilization) at an operational level and escalate immediate concerns or risks to leadership as needed.
Conduct spot checks and real-time reviews of scheduling accuracy, patient registration, and insurance verification while actively completing these tasks alongside the team.
Support adherence to departmental policies, scheduling guidelines, and triage workflows through direct observation, guidance, and corrective coaching in the moment.
Assist with daily coverage coordination and communicate staffing, access, or patient flow concerns, prioritizing maintaining service levels rather than administrative oversight.
Serve as a role model by consistently meeting or exceeding performance standards for productivity, accuracy, professionalism, and patient experience.
Participate in team huddles, meetings, audits, and quality improvement initiatives as assigned, with a primary focus on operational improvements that enhance patient access and frontline efficiency.
Support implementation of new processes, workflows, or tools by adopting them in daily work and assisting peers through hands-on guidance rather than formal training administration.
Perform additional patient-facing or operational duties as assigned, with administrative tasks remaining secondary to direct patient service responsibilities.
Answer incoming calls, schedule, cancel, and reschedule appointments following departmental protocols.
Maintain call abandonment rates, hold times, and scheduling accuracy standards.
Complete new and established patient registration, insurance verification, and eligibility checks.
Accurately enter and maintain patient demographic and insurance data in eCW/EHR.
Collect co-pays, outstanding balances, and provide accurate receipts per fiscal guidelines.
Perform walk-in triage intake per medical department procedures.
Ensure schedules are maintained throughout the day, including no-show coding and patient check-in/check-out.
Complete end-of-day front desk and reconciliation duties as required.
Rotate coverage across Medical, Dental, and Behavioral Health front desks as assigned.
Deliver consistent, compassionate, and professional customer service aligned with SDCHC standards.
Ensure strict adherence to all organizational policies, procedures, and protocols, including those related to patient privacy (HIPAA), infection control, and workplace safety.
Ensure compliance with all applicable local, state, and federal regulations, supporting a culture of safety and ethical conduct.
Actively participate in quality improvement initiatives, contributing ideas and solutions to enhance service delivery and patient satisfaction.