Referral Specialist Full Time Days Hybrid

Northwestern Memorial Healthcare•Chicago, IL

3d•$21 - $30•Hybrid

About The Position

The Referral Specialist reflects the mission, vision, and values of NM, adheres to the organization’s Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with all relevant policies, procedures, guidelines and all other regulatory and accreditation standards. This role involves providing exceptional customer service, triaging medical inquiries, assisting with appointment scheduling, educating consumers about services, and maintaining database accuracy. The position requires a strong understanding of medical knowledge, communication skills, and the ability to cross-market services. Collaboration with team members, hospital departments, and physician offices is essential. The role also involves utilizing technology like Epic for scheduling and insurance verification, and focusing on process improvement to achieve optimal outcomes.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent.
2-3 years of Customer Service in Contact/Call Center and/or medical staff office and computer experience.
Excellent customer service skills.
Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills.
Proficiency in computer data-entry/typing.
Ability to read, write, and communicate effectively in English.
Basic computer skills.
Ability to type 40 wpm.
Ability to multi-task.
Customer service oriented.
Excellent organizational, time management, analytical, and problem solving skills.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree.
Additional language skills.
Healthcare finance and/or healthcare insurance experience.
Knowledge and experience in a healthcare setting, especially patient scheduling and/or registration.
Additional training in health care, marketing, or communication.
Familiarity with health care plans and managed care.

Responsibilities

Consistently practices Patients First philosophy and adheres to high standards of customer service, fostering a team atmosphere.
Responds to questions and concerns, and forwards extraordinary issues to the Team Lead or Operations Coordinator.
Maintains patient confidentiality per HIPAA regulations.
Provides exceptional customer service to consumers, establishing a positive first impression of Northwestern Medicine.
Exceeds all consumer requests and alerts management of issues or concerns requiring escalation.
Appropriately triages telephone inquiries requesting medical services and/or physician referral/appointment to determine level of urgency/acuity and type of physician needed.
Maintains a sufficient medical knowledge base to recognize urgent clinical situations and make appropriate physician referrals.
Assists consumers in scheduling and registering for patient appointments.
Registers and educates consumers on classes and programs offered.
Securely processes consumers credit card information accurately with PCI compliance standards.
Educates consumers about additional NMHC services that may meet a patient's needs.
Obtains knowledge about hospital product lines and medical staff to enable cross-marketing of services.
Participates in training programs as new product lines are introduced.
Maximizes opportunities to cross-sell NM services.
Directs consumers to the NMHC website for additional information.
Protects the integrity of the proprietary database by entering and updating all consumer/physician demographic information correctly.
Documents codes for all consumer transactions to accurately track call types and effectiveness of all programs.
Maintains current knowledge of health care plans to accurately make physician referrals according to patient carriers.
Assists patients on requirements of their particular plans (e.g., HMO, IPA) and identifies alternative resources if needed.
Keeps abreast of all daily correspondence to ensure consumers receive accurate and up-to-date information.
Keeps fellow team members informed of all pertinent changes to procedures or new insights into clinical issues.
Interfaces with various hospital departments and physician offices while directing consumers and physicians through the Northwestern Medicine organization.
Utilizes Epic and other appropriate scheduling systems to register patients, schedule appointments, and verify insurance.
Responds to Internet requests from consumers.
Maintains the department average for all individual quality goals including contact center metrics, appointment scheduling, database accuracy, and quality monitoring.
Focuses on continual process improvements for assigned responsibilities to achieve optimal outcomes.
Completes telephone contacts to exceed expectations of callers.
Monitors queue status closely to minimize wait time of callers.
Other duties as assigned.