Patient Access Associate

Patient Access Associate (PAA)

The Patient Access Associate (PAA) is a hospital-based, non-clinical healthcare professional who serves as the first point of contact for patients. In this pivotal role, the PAA ensures a positive patient experience during the registration and admission processes by accurately collecting essential demographic and financial information.

• Patient Identification and Documentation:
• Greet patients and visitors courteously and professionally.
• Accurately identify patients in the Master Patient Index to reduce erroneous duplicate medical records, maintaining a 98% accuracy rate in medical record creation.
• Update demographics per legal identification.
• Verify the information on armbands before placing them on patients.
• Explain all required documents verbally, obtain signatures appropriately, and document any inability to obtain signatures correctly, including immediate scanning into EMR, per process.
• Process all ‘unable to sign’ consents per process, including following legal algorithms to research and communicate with patient contacts to obtain appropriate surrogate; escalations to next steps (Care Management) when unable to find surrogate.
• Patient Registration and Insurance Verification:
• Conduct face-to-face interviews to accurately obtain and process patient demographic and financial information, maintaining a minimum accuracy rate of 97% for error-free registrations.
• Process and act on Real-Time Eligibility (RTE) messages, including adding, terminating, and correcting coverages.
• Identify all true self-pay patients accurately and forward to Medicaid eligibility and application staff, ensuring only true self-pay patients are screened.
• Scan all required documents into patient records and place HAR notes on accounts when necessary.
• Identify and resolve insurance verification issues, informing patients of available options, including financial assistance.
• Regulatory Compliance and Customer Service:
• Ensure all patients receive necessary regulatory information and enter appropriate documentation in the EMR (e.g., HIPAA, Patient Rights Brochure, IMM, NOOS, ABN, etc.).
• Explain hospital policies, procedures, and financial responsibilities to patients and their families, providing excellent customer service.
• Appointment Scheduling:
• Schedule appointments, surgeries, and other medical procedures according to patient and provider preferences.
• Verify insurance coverage and obtain pre-authorizations as needed.
• Financial Communication:
• Communicate financial responsibilities to patients and collect funds in accordance with established protocols.
• Make referrals to Charity Care and Medical Assistance when needed.
• Workflow Management:
• Answer and direct incoming and external calls promptly.
• Independently prioritize work, including work queue management, patient registrations, insurance verification, and other assigned tasks to meet performance and productivity standards within department deadlines.
• Identify and correct errors in accounts using appropriate tools (e.g., Next Bar, One Source).
• Meeting and Training Participation:
• Attend departmental staff meetings or watch videos when absent.
• Attend all required in-person training/in-services and complete all educational assignments within the required timeframe.
• Read and respond to emails during each shift.
• Adherence to Policies:
• Adhere to hospital policies and procedures, including timely arrival, minimal absences, appropriate attire, readiness for work, and minimal personal electronic usage.
• Adhere to the RISE values. Contribute to a positive work environment that promotes teamwork, collaboration, professionalism, and continuous improvement.
• Additional Responsibilities:
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Director, Manager, or Supervisor.

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• 0–11 months of direct Patient Access or healthcare registration experience.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills to interact with patients, families, and clinical teams.
• Demonstrated ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a high-paced healthcare environment.
• Excellent attention to detail and accuracy in data entry and…