Director, Patient Access​/Exp

• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Bargaining Unit:
• Regular/Temporary:
  Regular
• End Date if Temporary:
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Standard
  
  Work Schedule:
• Building:
• Salary Range: 140,000 – 160,000

The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to departmental budgets, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, specialty, and training. The above hiring range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.

Position Summary

The Director, Patient Access and Experience provides strategic and operational leadership for all patient access functions across the Department of Radiology, with full oversight of access operations, the radiology call center, and patient experience initiatives supporting the Columbia Doctors New York-Presbyterian Imaging (CDNYPI) and Columbia Doctors New York-Presbyterian Advanced Imaging (CNYPAI) joint ventures.

This role directly manages a team of modality-based call center managers (e.g., MRI/CT, Ultrasound, Interventional Radiology, Mammography/DEXA, General X-Ray/Fluoroscopy), each responsible for scheduling expertise, patient communication, and operational performance within their respective imaging service lines. By organizing the call center around modalities, the Director ensures scheduling staff develop deep knowledge of exam protocols, preparation requirements, and clinical workflows—resulting in higher scheduling accuracy, fewer patient callbacks, and an improved access experience.

The Director is accountable for end-to-end optimization of the patient access experience including scheduling operations, template governance, pre-visit workflows, registration accuracy, and patient satisfaction. This position absorbs full operational and performance accountability previously shared across multiple roles, serving as the single point of leadership for radiology patient access.

The position partners closely with radiology clinical leadership, site operations directors, IT, revenue cycle, and New York-Presbyterian counterparts to align access strategy with clinical, operational, financial, and growth objectives.

Responsibilities

• Call Center Operations & Modality-Based Management Structure
  • Direct oversight and accountability for all radiology call center operations, managing a team of modality-based managers who each own scheduling performance for their assigned imaging service lines.
  • Establish and maintain the modality-based management model, ensuring each manager develops subject matter expertise in exam protocols, preparation instructions, insurance/authorization requirements, and clinical workflows for their modality group.
  • Set performance standards, service level expectations, and operational targets for scheduling, registration, call handling, abandonment rates, and first-call resolution across all modality teams.
  • Monitor and drive access KPIs including third next available appointment (TNAA), wait times, template utilization, scheduling accuracy, no-show rates, and patient throughput.
  • Ensure consistent, high-quality customer service across all patient access touchpoints, with modality managers accountable for specialized patient communication and instruction delivery.
  • Manage staffing models, cross-training plans, and coverage strategies to ensure adequate call center capacity during peak volumes, staff absences, and new service launches.
• Scheduling Template & Workflow Governance
  • Lead governance and standardization of scheduling templates across all modalities and locations, partnering with modality chiefs, clinical leadership, and site operations directors.
  • Ensure templates align with clinical capacity, productivity targets, patient demand patterns, and growth objectives.
  • Oversee continuous evaluation and optimization of access workflows including pre-registration, insurance verification, medical necessity checks, and pre-certification processes.
  • Coordinate with modality-based managers to ensure scheduling protocols reflect current exam requirements, contraindication screening, and preparation instructions.
  • Ensure templates and workflows support…