RELEASE INFORMATION SPEC

Covenant Health•Knoxville, TN

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Release of Information Specialist serves within the Health Information Management Administration Call Center, which handles telephone and facsimile requests for medical records across multiple Covenant Health facilities. This role requires excellent customer service and phone etiquette to assist callers with the release of medical information for continuity of care and to answer questions regarding health information. A primary responsibility is to protect patient medical records from improper release by validating the requester's authority before releasing information. The specialist must handle unpredictable volumes of calls 24 hours a day, maintaining accuracy in accordance with HIPAA & HITECH Guidelines, State and Federal laws, and Covenant Health policies. The call center operates seven days a week, 24 hours a day, with some specialists having remote access for flexibility.

Requirements

Must be computer proficient.
Must possess a desire to provide excellent customer service and have strong interpersonal skills.
Must possess good decision-making skills and be able to work independently.
Must be detail oriented, highly organized and capable of multi-tasking.

Nice To Haves

Some college preferred with experience in HIPAA and HITECH.
Registered Health Information Technician preferred, but not required.

Responsibilities

Protects the release of patient health information while maintaining confidentiality on all patient health information.
Complies with record requests following State and Federal, HIPAA and HITECH guidelines and Covenant Health policy and procedures.
Maintains proper phone etiquette and customer service expectations at all times in stressful, high volume situations.
Assists the caller and validates information being presented to ensure authority, patient identification resulting in proper release of the medical record.
Releases medical records requested by facsimile by maintaining the Right Fax software and database.
Accesses various software and functionality for patient information based upon the requester needs and the patient’s dates of service.
Assists the caller by verifying whether releases have been processed by the ROI Coordinator through access of the PHI software.
Forwards the requestor to the proper ROI Coordinator for further assistance as needed.
Works as needed in emergency situations for employees with home connectivity.
Maintains thorough knowledge of Covenant Health HIPAA and HITECH policies as well as State and Federal guidelines regulating release of personal health information.
Performs other related duties as assigned.