Patient Access Training Coordinator at Orthopedic One – Westerville, Ohio

Position Summary: Under the supervision of Patient Access leadership, this position is primarily responsible for the orientation and training of new Patient Access team members. This position updates staff training and education material specific to patient access and referral coordinator roles. When deemed a higher priority, this role will takes scheduling calls from inbound queue or provide coverage to the department as needed.

Responsibilities/Accountabilities:

Train and Support Staff:

1. Coordinates and conducts on-the-job training for newly hired Patient Access team members to support their success on the job in the areas of inbound referral management, inbound phone queue scheduling, insurance eligibility, patient portal, and overall patient experience.
2. Collaborates with Patient Access leadership to support employee training around scheduling workflows for the physician clinics.
3. Provides feedback and shares insights with peers and supervisors to support introductory period reviews of peers in training.
4. Responsible for updating training resources and providing in-service training sessions as needed to current team members as processes or procedures change or are added.
5. Must demonstrate understanding of insurance plan/payors, (commercial or government payors, worker’s compensation, etc.) and how insurance coverage requirements are an integral part of how the work is performed in patient access and other departments downstream of the referral and scheduling activities.
6. Responsible for maintaining their own competency with various systems (EMR, scheduling software, and/or referral management platforms) and in various roles within the Patient Access department.
7. Serves as an immediate support to peers in answering questions and providing guidance during training and in the absence of a supervisor in day-to-day scenarios.
8. Works cooperatively and collaboratively within Patient Access and with other departments to understand workflows between departments, identify trends, and works to prevent and correct errors which can interfere with successful and timely revenue cycle activities. Works to re-educate/train team members when trends are identified by patient accounts that negatively affect revenue cycle.
9. Under the direction of Patient Access leadership, may be asked to lead a project or front-end initiative.

Processing Referrals:

1. Process incoming referrals following department policies and procedures.
2. Ensure referrals are processed the same business day they are received or no later than 24 hours from receipt.
3. Ensures that three (3) calls are made within Orthopedic One guidelines of receipt of the referral; First call within 48 hours, second call within 7 days of first attempt, and third/final call within 5 – 7 days of second attempt.
4. Follows physician protocols to call referred patients and schedule appointment with appropriate physician.
5. Documents all scheduling attempts and report results to Supervisor, Scheduling.
6. Follow through to resolution with referring provider office regarding communication with referred patients. Manage all communication between Orthopedic One and the referring office about the patient’s referral status.

Scheduling Phones:

1. Answers calls from busy scheduling queue to set appointments.
2. Uses physician protocols, insurance participation information, and patient preference to determine most appropriate approach to schedule patients.
3. Calls patients to reschedule appointments as assigned.

Initiative:

1. Seeks out assignments, added duties, or opportunities to learn when assigned work is complete, as patient census or workload permits, or to otherwise fill down time productively.
2. Proposes new ideas, makes suggestions, and seeks opportunities to improve processes or workflow through appropriate channels.
3. Attempts to problem solve when assigned work is disrupted, equipment is down, etc. before involving supervisor.

Teamwork:

1. Works cooperatively with coworkers, providers, and management.
2. Shares knowledge and insights with co-workers in a constructive manner.
3. Willingly provides coverage to department, staying beyond scheduled ending time when clinic schedule demands it, volunteering to cover time off or unexpected absences, maintaining workflow in department without direct supervision.
4. Addresses conflicts with person directly before involving manager or uninvolved peers.
5. Is considerate of others with regard to taking breaks or meal periods, use of computer and telephone, and noise in department.

Policies and Procedures:

1. Knows and complies with policies and procedures as enumerated in the Orthopedic One Employee Handbook and policies and procedures documents.
2. Provides assistance and support to leadership in implementing policies and procedures as necessary.
3. Actively participates in training, and conducting day to day work activity by adhering to all policies and procedures as enumerated in compliance and risk management programs.

High School Diploma or equivalent required. Must have a minimum of 2 years prior work experience in a patient access role that includes scheduling, referral coordination or billing areas in a healthcare setting. Prior scheduling, registration, and insurance eligibility experience is required. Customer service experience and intermediate level experience with software such as electronic health records, Microsoft Office, and scheduling software. Previous experience providing effective on-the-job training to peers is preferred