Patient Access Supervisor - Emergency in Hillsboro, Illinois at Hillsboro Area Hospital Inc

Job Summary:

The Patient Access Supervisor-Emergency is responsible for the daily operations, leadership, and performance of the Emergency Department Patient Access team. This position ensures efficient patient registration, insurance verification, patient identification, financial counseling, and regulatory compliance while supporting an exceptional patient experience and accurate reimbursement.

The Patient Access Supervisor-Emergency serves as the primary resource for Emergency Department registration staff, collaborating closely with Emergency Department leadership, clinical staff, Patient Accounting Services, Case Management, Health Information Management (HIM), and ancillary departments to ensure timely, accurate, and compliant patient access processes.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Supervise the daily operations of the Emergency Department Patient Access team.
• Recruit, hire, onboard, train, mentor, coach, and evaluate assigned staff.
• Develop work schedules and ensure appropriate staffing coverage for a 24/7 Emergency Department.
• Monitor employee productivity, attendance, and performance.
• Conduct regular team meetings and one-on-one coaching sessions.
• Foster a culture of teamwork, accountability, compassion, and exceptional customer service.
• Address employee concerns and administer corrective action when appropriate.

Professional Requirements:

• Ensure timely, accurate registration of Emergency Department patients.
• Monitor patient throughput while maintaining registration accuracy.
• Verify patient identity using established patient identification procedures.
• Ensure collection of complete demographic and insurance information.
• Verify medical necessity and obtain required documentation when applicable.
• Ensure appropriate encounter creation and account accuracy.
• Monitor duplicate medical record prevention efforts.
• Ensure compliance with EMTALA requirements by ensuring registration activities never delay the medical screening examination or emergency treatment.
• Oversee insurance eligibility verification.
• Ensure appropriate payer selection.
• Coordinate insurance updates and corrections.
• Assist with complex insurance issues.
• Monitor self-pay identification and financial counseling opportunities.
• Ensure appropriate referrals for Medicaid, Marketplace coverage, or Financial Assistance programs.
• Ensure all Medicare required documents are completed at time of service.
• Ensure compliance with organizational requirements to notify patients of charity care and financial assistance availability.
• Reduce registration-related billing edits and denials.
• Conduct and monitor registration quality audits.
• Ensure completion of required authorizations when applicable after stabilization.
• Coordinate with Case Management, Patient Financial Services, and HIM to resolve registration-related issues.
• Monitor and work worklists for incomplete registrations and insurance verification.
• Ensure compassionate, patient-centered service in a high-volume emergency care environment.
• Resolve patient and family concerns regarding registration, insurance, financial responsibility, and billing.
• Escalate patient complaints appropriately.
• Promote excellent communication with clinical staff and providers.
• Monitor Emergency Department registration workflow.
• Coordinate staffing during periods of high patient volume.
• Identify operational bottlenecks and recommend workflow improvements.
• Participate in process improvement initiatives.
• Assist with downtime procedures and emergency preparedness activities.
• Support implementation of new technology and workflow enhancements.
• Monitor departmental Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), including:
• Registration Accuracy
• Insurance Verification Rate
• Registration Completion Time
• Left Without Being Seen (registration impact)
• Registration Error Rate
• Duplicate Medical Record Rate
• Denials Related to Registration
• Financial Assistance Screening Rate
• Patient Satisfaction Scores
• Employee Productivity
• Quality Audit Scores
• Completes and maintains all required education and/or training requirements.
• Complies with HIPAA regulations and always maintains patient confidentiality.
• Follows and maintains all lawful safety, health requirements, and regulations, and follow protocols for required protective equipment (PPE).
• Promptly reports safety issues, job-related injury, or illness, near misses, etc. in SafetyZone.
• Follows Hillsboro Health Standards of Behavior.

Education and/or Experience:

• High school diploma or equivalent required; associate’s degree Associate degree in Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, preferred.
• Minimum of three (3) years of Patient Access experience in a hospital setting required.
• Minimum of two (2) years of leadership or supervisory experience required.
• Emergency Department registration experience required.
• Experience with insurance verification and patient financial counseling required.
• Experience with governmental and commercial payer reimbursement methodologies.
• Experience with practice management systems (e.g., CPSI, Cerner, Oracle Health, etc.) and electronic payment systems.
• Strong attention to detail and excellent organizational skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and other Office applications a plus.

Certificates and Licenses:

• Certified Healthcare Access Manager (CHAM) preferred
• Certified Healthcare Access Associate (CHAA) preferred

Physical Demands:

Physical demands of the position, including vision, hearing, repetitive motion, and environment are required. A separate document will be provided upon hire, during annual evaluation process, and upon request.

Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position without compromising patient care.

CORPORATE COMPLIANCE

Receives training and/or attends necessary meetings to meet the criteria as outlined in Hillsboro Health’s Corporate Compliance Plan and Code of Conduct. Understands the responsibilities related to compliance and knows whether to contact the Corporate Compliance Officer should there be any instance of question or concern regarding fraud and/or abuse.