Patient Coordinator I

Job Summary:

• The Patient Coordinator I greets and establishes first contact with patients, or performs in a call center capacity.
• Confirms and updates patient demographics and verifies insurance as necessary to ensure that patients have appropriate insurance for physician they are seeing.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Greet patients either in person or via telephone, and update their insurance/demographics in the practice management system.
• Assure that physician accepts insurance that patients present with. If not already done prior to visit, verify insurance prior to patient's arrival or at minimum at time of arrival before visit.
• Communicate with appropriate staff regarding patient's arrival, and ensure that patient's medical record is available for physician.
• Process/update HIPAA-related paperwork and other institutional forms as necessary.
• Collect or retrieve referrals or insurance authorizations as required.
• Review status of waiting room on a routine basis and ensure that patients are kept advised of wait times.
• Ensures that patient has paid co-pay or collects co-pay under direction of billing staff, providing patient with receipt following established cash-control processes.
• May schedule patient for follow-up appointment as needed.
• Provide patient with guidelines for requesting medical records, if necessary.
• May perform simple charge entry tasks or enter payments collected from patients and prepare Cashier's deposit. Note: duties are mutually exclusive and may not be performed by the same employee.
• Answer phones for practice and schedule appointments.
• Follow all HIPAA and any other governmental or state agency requirements regarding the appropriate handling of PHI documents.
• May initiate reminder phone calls for next day appointments.
• Performs other related duties.

Education:

• High School graduate/GED.

Skills & Experience:

• 1 year physician practice experience.
• Must have a minimum of one week training on-site which will be provided by practice.
• Prefer experience in a medical office setting, utilizing a computer system for physician scheduling.
• Keyboarding skills are necessary.
• IDX or other practice management system experience preferred.
• Ability to communicate effectively with multicultural and language-deficit patients.
• Effective interpersonal and communications skills required.
• Excellent telephone etiquette.
• Knowledge of medical terminology strongly preferred.
• Must be able to adapt to a growing and changing environment.

Work Environment:

• Work requires manual dexterity for handling charts and using office equipment - specifically the use of a computer keyboard and calculator.
• Must be able to stoop and bend to retrieve files and supplies, and sit, stand or move around for extended periods of time.
• Must be able to maneuver to photocopy insurance cards and move about the waiting room area speaking with patients.