Behavioral Health Patient Support Specialist (Bilingual) in Houston, Texas at Asian American Health Coalition

POSITION TITLE: Behavioral Health Patient Support Specialist

LOCATION: HOPE Clinic

REPORTS TO: Behavioral Health Administrative Support Specialist Team Lead or assigned supervisor

EDUCATION: High School Diploma or GED; Associate degree preferred

WORK EXPERIENCE: 1 year or more of healthcare experience preferred

SALARY RANGE: $15 - $18, based on experience

FLSA STATUS: Non-exempt

POSITION TYPE: Full-Time

LANGUAGE: Bilingual in English and Spanish, Arabic, Chinese or other languages is required

HOPE Clinic provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

JOB SUMMARY:

The Behavioral Health Patient Support Specialist is an empathic individual with competent observational, critical thinking, communication, problem-solving and decision-making skills to meet patient needs and contribute to a positive patient care experience and work environment. Supports BH team with greetings, registration, checking in and out of patients and processing payments. Takes part in the daily review and process of internal and self-referrals for behavioral services. Provides coordinated care to a variety of patients enrolled in Psychiatric and Counseling services with HOPE Clinic, and functions as part of the interdisciplinary care team by providing education and case management directly to patients, and support to Psychiatrists and Behavioral Providers. Coordinate with clinic managers regarding psychiatric and counseling services.

MAJOR DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Greet patients, answer their questions in a friendly, professional manner;
• Support the day-to-day administrative operations of the Behavioral Health (BH) department;
• Serve as a liaison between the Behavioral Health department and other internal departments;
• Perform registration, makes appointments, check patients in and out and process payments all within the parameters of excellent customer service;
• Maintain Behavioral Health logs, statistics, productivity reports, and other departmental records;
• Provides office services by implementing administrative systems, procedures, monitoring administrative projects;
• May advocate, coordinate on behalf of patients with schools;
• Manages BH provider schedules to ensure department productivity;
• Support clinical operations by assisting with patient intake, appointment preparation, and care coordination across multiple service lines.
• Provide coverage for designated clinical and administrative duties when Certified Medical Assistants (CMAs) are unavailable, within the scope of organizational policies and training including checking PMP's.
• Assist with obtaining and documenting patient vital signs, medication updates, demographic information, and other pertinent health information to support provider visits.
• Facilitate telehealth appointments by contacting patients prior to visits, guiding them through telehealth platform access and virtual visit links, collecting co-payments, verifying patient information, and ensuring patients are prepared for their appointments.
• Serve as a liaison between patients and clinical staff by addressing basic questions, gathering information, and escalating clinical concerns to licensed staff or providers as appropriate.
• Support the care team in managing varying patient needs, including: Patients requiring administrative support and care coordination.. Patients requiring medication reconciliation, vital signs collection, and visit preparation. Telehealth patients requiring technology assistance, registration support, payment collection, and visit readiness.
• Ensure seamless patient flow and continuity of services by providing cross-functional support during staffing shortages, absences, or increased patient volume.
• Maintain accurate, timely, and confidential documentation in the electronic health record (EHR) system in accordance with organizational policies and HIPAA requirements.
• Maintains organization and patient confidentiality;
• Coordinates billing/credentialing issues with finance and HR department as needed;
• Provides support to BH Providers and coordinates psychotropic medication requests for refill as needed;
• Is responsible for daily review and process referrals queue to BH services (internal and self referrals). Closes referrals and fills structured data;
• Responsible for prior authorization of psychotropic medications;
• Assist patients with completing Behavioral Health forms, screenings, handouts, and other required documentation;
• Responsible for PMP reports from Psychiatric patients. Reports must be printed for all patients before their visit;
• Performs other duties as deemed necessary by supervisors;
• When needed and as appropriate, interview patients to determine their needs and refers them to appropriate community agencies and services (i.e. housing, legal aid, emergency shelter, domestic violence, employment, adult education, food/clothing, etc);
• Coordinate and arrange translation services for patient care;
• Coordinates all logistic support to department, including supplies and equipment;
• Abides and sustains workflow expectations established by supervisor;
• Escalate difficult, unusual, or complex patient concerns to the appropriate supervisor or department;
• Attend on-site/off-site community engagement activities and on-site/off-site clinic events as needed;
• Perform other duties as assigned to support HRSA compliance and HOPE Clinic's Vision, Mission, and Values.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

• Minimum of one year in health education, patient navigation, and/or health clinic patient assistance field;
• Ability to work independently with strong sense of focus, task-oriented;
• Ability to work with culturally-diverse families and communities with the ability to be culturally sensitive, appropriate and non-judgmental;
• Comprehends fundamental medical terminologies in medical care delivery;
• Previous behavioral health care experience preferred;
• Work well under pressure and maintain a consistently pleasant and professional demeanor when communicating with the public and staff;
• Be able to maintain a calm and professional attitude even in the face of crisis and dramatic presentation;
• Ensure that work assignments and information gathered from day to day work is not shared with anyone and protects all patient and agency information;
• Is knowledgeable of and maintains HIPAA standards of privacy and confidentiality;
• Strong interpersonal communication and written skills;
• Able to work in different work settings and environments;
• Adhere to agency policy, procedures and the professional code of ethics;
• Basic casework skills (referrals, advocacy).

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE:

• High School diploma or GED; Associates degree preferred. Experience in the medical field and referral/patient navigation and/or billing/medical records is preferred.

OTHER SKILLS and ABILITIES:

• Bilingual (Chinese, Arabic and/or Spanish with English);
• Above average skills in language ability as well as public speaking and writing;
• Must have good transportation and a valid Texas Driver’s license.