Support Services Specialist - General Hospital Pharmacy

University of Iowa • Iowa City, IA

9h • Hybrid

About The Position

The Support Services Specialist provides prescription support services for patients to assure effective and efficient delivery of health care. This position requires strong computer skills, a high level of attention to detail, accurate documentation skills, strong organizational and problem-solving skills, a general knowledge of hospital and prescription billing practices, and excellent customer services skills. This position will work closely with other staff within the hospital to support non-specialty pharmacy medication adherence management (management of patient refill coordination), complete routine pharmacy billing activities, and assist with shipping issues. This position will primarily provide support to patients utilizing non-specialty ambulatory care pharmacies at UI Health Care, including but not limited to Stead Family Children’s Hospital L2 Outpatient Pharmacy, General Hospital Pharmacy, Pomerantz L2 Outpatient Pharmacy, and Discharge Pharmacy.
Position Responsibilities
Patient Adherence Management
Manage refill services for select patient populations in accordance with department policies and procedures.
Communicate via phone and electronically with patients, pharmacist, providers and other health care team members regarding patient adherence issues.
Monitor and manage inventory activities related to patient prescription needs.
Provide accurate documentation of all patient interactions/assessments as required by accrediting agencies, payers and/or administration.
At a future date, enrollment of patients in refill management pharmacy services including:
Communication with patient, pharmacist and/or provider to gather relevant demographic information, shipping and contact preferences.
Provision of appropriate enrollment and contact information.
Provides highest customer service experience for patients and providers.
Communication/Training:
Understand the importance of effective business communication and maintaining professionalism in difficult situations.
Participate in orientation of pharmacy technicians, pharmacists, pharmacy residents and others within the department on pharmacy practices.
Problem Resolution
Provides assistance with the resolution of shipment/delivery issues.
Communicate with providers, payors, patients, co-workers, supervisors and departments to resolve complex insurance issues.
Provides assistance to patients with billing and claim resolution issues
Provide documentation of all activities as required by accrediting agencies, payers and/or administration, including:
Workload statistics (enrolled/active patients, mail outs, etc.)
Phone statistics
Assists with evaluation and implementation of new policy and procedures
Participate in piloting new workflows/procedures
Assist with preparing training and orientation materials for new procedures
Assist with training and orientation of staff to new procedures
Assist with specialty pharmacy service equipment modifications, reorganization, and additions to implement new policy and procedure
Complete and maintain compliance with all competencies and educational requirements.
Other duties as assigned
Provide cross functional support to assist with communication and enrollment of patients into copay/coinsurance assistance and grant programs
Provide cross functional support to assist with troubleshooting claim payments

Requirements

• Completion of a bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Iowa Board of Pharmacy registration as Pharmacy Trainee required prior to commencement of employment.
• Successful completion of the pharmacy technician certification exam within one year of the start of employment.
• Previous experience (typically 6-12 months) in support or customer service.
• Experience and proficiency with computer software applications (i.e. Microsoft Office Suite – Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint) or comparable programs.
• Strong attention to detail and proven ability to gather and analyze data and keep accurate records.
• Self-motivated with initiative to seek out additional responsibilities and tasks along with generating suggestions for improving workflow.
• Effective verbal and written communication skills, active listening skills and the ability to maintain professionalism while handling difficult situations.
• Demonstrate effective problem-solving abilities and meets challenges with resourcefulness.
• Familiarity with medical terminology.
• Professional experience working effectively with individuals from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives.

Nice To Haves

• Experience working in a complex hospital system is highly desirable.
• Experience working in a collaborative team environment is desirable.
• Pharmacy experience is desirable.
• Knowledge of healthcare billing, experience working with insurance and/or federal and state assistance programs is desirable.
• Experience working with multiple technology platforms (i.e. Epic, GE) is desirable.
• Knowledge and understanding of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Manage refill services for select patient populations in accordance with department policies and procedures.
• Communicate via phone and electronically with patients, pharmacist, providers and other health care team members regarding patient adherence issues.
• Monitor and manage inventory activities related to patient prescription needs.
• Provide accurate documentation of all patient interactions/assessments as required by accrediting agencies, payers and/or administration.
• Communication with patient, pharmacist and/or provider to gather relevant demographic information, shipping and contact preferences.
• Provision of appropriate enrollment and contact information.
• Understand the importance of effective business communication and maintaining professionalism in difficult situations.
• Participate in orientation of pharmacy technicians, pharmacists, pharmacy residents and others within the department on pharmacy practices.
• Provides assistance with the resolution of shipment/delivery issues.
• Communicate with providers, payors, patients, co-workers, supervisors and departments to resolve complex insurance issues.
• Provides assistance to patients with billing and claim resolution issues
• Provide documentation of all activities as required by accrediting agencies, payers and/or administration
• Assists with evaluation and implementation of new policy and procedures
• Participate in piloting new workflows/procedures
• Assist with preparing training and orientation materials for new procedures
• Assist with training and orientation of staff to new procedures
• Assist with specialty pharmacy service equipment modifications, reorganization, and additions to implement new policy and procedure
• Complete and maintain compliance with all competencies and educational requirements.
• Provide cross functional support to assist with communication and enrollment of patients into copay/coinsurance assistance and grant programs
• Provide cross functional support to assist with troubleshooting claim payments

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level