Patient Access Resource Specialist

Department Overview

This position is the initial point of contact for patients to OHSU. They are the face and voice of OHSU Ambulatory Clinics. The incumbent is motivated to create the ideal patient and family experience while actively endorsing the OHSU brand. This position supports OHSU Ambulatory Clinic operations with overall new patient schedule coordination for patients and providers, serving as their primary point of contact for all scheduling needs through the Intake Center. The position works with patients, families, providers, clinical and non-clinical staff to coordinate the patient’s experience throughout the process of accessing healthcare at OHSU Ambulatory clinics. The position is also involved in recognizing and reporting access barriers to their immediate supervisor.

This position is responsible for all aspects of new patient scheduling related to Medicine Specialties patients. The incumbent will coordinate new patient scheduling from the point of initial contact through the appointment creation. They will be responsible for collecting required information including external medical records and insurance information. They will be responsible for ensuring that the patient is scheduled accurately and all external records regarding the patient’s current disease are accurate, complete, and available in the provided guidelines.

This position serves as a member of the Ambulatory Access Services (AAS) department, which is responsible for supporting the systems and operations of ambulatory practices, professional services and hospital departments. The AAS Intake Center supports the new patient scheduling for various clinics as defined within the department’s scope. Workflows supported by the Ambulatory Access Services department include: patient appointment scheduling, space and resource utilization and processing of referrals. The department supports its customers in workflows that start when the patient initially calls to obtain services through to the time that the patient is seen in clinic.

Function/Duties of Position

Registration

• Accurately verify patient information including demographic & insurance coverage. Make updates via Epic when necessary.
• Accurately create new medical records for a new OHSU patient if they are currently not in Epic.

New Patient Scheduling

• Receive incoming phone calls via the Automated Call Distributor (ACD).
• Work the referral work queue to schedule Assess the
• patient’s needs based on diagnosis and previous treatments.
• Schedule/hold patient appointments following protocol for assigned departments, documenting all necessary
• Triage information to the appropriate clinical parties via
• Monitor daily the Intake outlook Triage faxes to appropriate parties within the team.
• Monitor daily the Epic Pool and personal Intake basket daily
• If needed, contact the referring provider/practice to obtain necessary clinical and demographic information.
• Communicate with other departments and referring provider practices to achieve optimal care coordination for medical or financially fragile patients.
• Consistently answer telephones in a timely manner and within defined standards.
• Monitor access issues with provider schedules that affect patient satisfaction and communicate issues to the team leader.
• Triage phone calls and transfer to appropriate practice using the defined ambulatory standards.
• Proactively perform outbound call work. This includes calling patients to inform them of a referral in our system and to actively schedule those patients.
• Obtain, verify and input all information accurately into the appropriate system.
• Clearly and thoroughly document any and all actions taken on a referral based on department protocols in the EPIC Referral.
• Verify correct department for referral based on Intake
• Route referral to correct practice in the event of a misrouted
• Communicate with supervisor/manager if the established expectations cannot be met in the timeframes given.
• Capture all outside medical records listed on the intake matrix and scan them into EPIC. Alternatively, create the link for CareEverywhere and notify the provider of where the records can be located.
• Use the wait list work queue to ensure provider slots are full
• Create and print new patient packets for scheduled appointments.

Patient Satisfaction

• This position is a key contributor to patient satisfaction initiatives with the OHSU Ambulatory This position has a direct effect on patient experience metrics re: access and appointment scheduling.
• Resolve patient inquiries or escalate to higher levels for solution
• Escalate all complaints to manager or supervisor, utilizing established chain of command
• Demonstrate courteous and professional behavior when dealing with patients/staff at all times.
• Manage a positive patient experience at all times.

Other

• Other duties as assigned

Required Qualifications

• One year of experience in a medical office setting, including high-volume direct patient contact, scheduling of appointments and may require experience obtaining managed care authorizations (dependent on position description). OR one and a half years of work experience in a high volume direct public contact position and 6 months experience in a medical office setting.  The candidate must have a thorough knowledge of PAS policies and procedures. Candidates will have demonstrated advanced PAS user skills as well as extensive knowledge of integrated care at OHSU.

Knowledge and Skills Required:

• Basic computer skills including word processing. Windows applications, on-line scheduling, and a preference for data-base skills. Excellent verbal and written communications skills.  Strong customer service orientation.  Demonstrated effectiveness in confrontational customer interactions.

Preferred Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED
• OHSU experience preferred
• Prefer the candidate have a thorough knowledge of patient and referral processes in EPIC.
• Prefer candidates have demonstrated advanced patient scheduling skills.
• Experience with electronic scheduling, and electronic medical record systems preferred.
• Advanced computer skills, including MS Word, Excel and Access, Epic skills and online resource use knowledge.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Demonstrated efficiency, problem solving and negotiation skills in resolving patient concerns.
• Must meet Department performance standards measuring efficiency, production, timeliness and accuracy. This will be reviewed on a regular basis both as a team and as an individual.
• Ability to multi-task in a high volume situation.
• Strong attention to detail and processes
• Ability to work autonomously, with a high level of accuracy, speed and exhibit a willingness to work with deadlines.

Additional Details

• Must be able to multi-task in a high-volume call and work environment. This is a fully remote position; the employee will be required to have a HIPAA compliant space to work remotely. There is an office space available in the downtown Portland to account for technical outages. Or as an option if preferred.
• Must be able to sit long periods of time, as well as spend 90% of time on telephone and computer usage.