Patient Services Associate

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Location:

Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania- 3400 Spruce St

Department:
Ophthalmology Clinical Support

Hours:

Fulltime, Monday - Friday, Onsite

Summary:

The Patient Services Associate (PSA) assists the practice/department in maintaining a patient/customer focus, supports the delivery of high quality care, shares a passion for patient and customer-centered care, and assists in meeting or exceeding patient satisfaction and financial/operational targets.

The PSA is responsible for the arrival and/or departure activities of patients in the practice, managing and handling patient calls and inquiries, coordinating patient appointments, updating patient insurance/billing information, and performing point of service activities.

The PSA may function in a physician practice or a call center environment. Rotation between PSA functions and/or departments may be required.

Responsibilities:

• Patient Service:
  Strives to understand and anticipate patient needs, manages service recovery efforts when needed, enlisting management assistance as appropriate, identifies opportunities to improve the patient experience. As per practice/department protocols and/or measurements: answer phones in a timely manner, manage/handle patient requests and route appropriately, retrieve voicemails in a timely manner, take accurate and thorough messages and route appropriately through EMR. Schedule patient appointments (on phone or in person) by determining reason for visit, following established schedules and protocols, using appropriate billing area/appointment location, communicating changes and confirming appointments, and, as needed, offering alternative and canceling/rescheduling appointments.
  
  Responsible for arriving/departing activities of patient at practice and performs point of service activities: collects copays and records accurately, obtains necessary signatures/forms, obtains insurance cards and referrals/authorizations, updates appointment status in EMR, and finalizes all check-out procedures. Communicates with patients regarding patient flow and wait times - keeps manager aware of potential issues as they arise. Issues referrals and obtains pre-authorizations for patients as required and as per protocol.
• Financial:
  Maintains up to date knowledge of insurance requirements pertinent to patient service and billing procedures: including basic knowledge of all managed care plans and which insurers require a copayment or referral. Validates patient demographic/insurance information and/or registers new patients into EMR using established protocols Records receipts accurately to ensure end of day reconciliation; participates in cash reconciliation delineations. Resolves work queues and/or issues from front-end reports;
  
  proactively prioritizes recovery of missing charges. Orders supplies for the office and generates front-end process reports as requested.
• Other / Regulatory:
  Ensures compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local regulatory standards (ex TJC, DOH, FDA, HIPAA, HCFA, DPW, LCGME, SCGME, etc) Flexible and readily adopts new processes and engages in practice operation changes. Performs duties in accordance with Penn Medicine and entity values, policies, and procedures. Other duties as assigned to support the unit, department, entity, and health system organization.
• Access Center Responsibilities (if appropriate):
  Coordinates clinical and administrative aspects of the new patient scheduling encounter. Perform within the expected outcome of the Automated Call Distribution (ACD) environment. Solves telephone issues and timely reports problems related to volume to manager. Follow established downtime procedures for registration As needed: assist with coverage of POS and Pre-Processing Areas, create/mail new patient packets, appointment 'bumping', wait list scheduling, resource scheduling, and team scheduling.

Education or Equivalent

Experience:

• H.S. Diploma/GED (Required)
• And 2+ years Medical office experience, or relevant customer service experience. Advanced degree (Associate's, Bachelor's, Master's) may be considered in lieu of experience
• Associate of Arts or Science (Preferred)

Skills and Abilities:

• Demonstrated customer service skills.
• Demonstrated interpersonal/verbal communication skills.
• Basic computer knowledge and skills.
• Ability to speak, read, and, write in English.
• Ability to utilize critical thinking.
• Ability to multi-task.
• Experience using EMR (Preferred).

We believe that the…