Patient Access Specialist

Patient Access Specialist

Northwestern Memorial Hospital

Salary range: $18.40 - $27.59 hourly

• $10,000 Tuition Reimbursement per year ($5,700 part‑time)
• $10,000 Student Loan Repayment ($5,000 part‑time)
• $1,000 Professional Development per year ($500 part‑time)
• $250 Wellbeing Fund per year ($125 for part‑time)
• Matching 401(k)
• Excellent medical, dental and vision coverage
• Life insurance
• Annual Employee Salary Increase and Incentive Bonus
• Paid time off and Holiday pay
• Sign‑on Bonus Eligibility:
  Internal employees and rehires who left within 1 year are not eligible; exception: new graduate internal employees seeking first licensed clinical position may be eligible depending on job family.

The Patient Access Specialist reflects the mission, vision and values of Northwestern Medicine Health Care, adheres to the organization’s Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with all relevant policies, procedures, guidelines and regulatory and accreditation standards.

• Consistently practices Patients First philosophy and adheres to high standards of customer service.
• Responds to questions and concerns.
• Forwards, directs, and notifies Team Lead or Operations Coordinator of extraordinary issues as necessary.
• Maintains patient confidentiality per HIPAA regulations.
• Provides exceptional customer service to patients establishing a positive first impression of Northwestern Medicine.
• Exceeds all consumer requests and alerts management of issues or concerns that require escalation.
• Correctly identifies and collects patient demographic information in accordance with organization standards.
• Interacts with various hospital departments and physician offices to effectively schedule and direct patients through the system.
• Reaches out to patients to schedule an appointment as defined.
• Performs medical necessity checks for scheduled services, communicates options to patients if appointment fails.
• Informs patients of any issues with securing the financial account for their encounter.
• Completes out‑of‑pocket estimations as requested by patients.
• Provides training and education as needed.
• Manages work schedule efficiently, completing tasks on time.
• Completes other duties assigned by manager.
• Cross‑training between various departments will take place to ensure coverage.
• Participates in Quality Assurance reviews to ensure integrity of patient data information.
• Uses effective service recovery skills to solve problems or service breakdowns when they occur.
• Utilizes department and hospital policies and procedures to complete assigned tasks.
• Adheres to all department policies and compliance requirements.
• Avoids putting patient in financial or safety risk.
• Other duties as assigned.

• Communicates information to the patient regarding questions about physician referrals, insurance referrals and consultations.
• Collects authorization numbers in appropriate systems.
• Provides a professional and constructive environment for communication across units/departments and resolves operational issues.
• May attend intra/interdepartmental meetings which involve walking within campus.
• Communicates customer satisfaction issues to appropriate individuals.
• Demonstrates teamwork by helping co‑workers within and across departments.
• Communicates effectively with others, respects diverse opinions and styles, and acknowledges the assistance and contributions of others.
• Interacts with internal customers to provide excellent support service to staff in departments directly providing patient care.
• Accommodates all levels of communication ability.

• Utilizes multiple online order retrieval systems to verify or print the patient’s order.
• Verifies insurance eligibility and benefit levels through the use of online tools or over the phone.
• Completes accurate handoff instructions and notes to scheduling staff in Epic.
• Demonstrates ability to use all computer applications efficiently.
• Runs real time eligibility on all patients to verify insurance and follows out of network policies as applicable.
• Sends quality Epic messages and telephone encounters that are descriptive and grammatically correct.