Overview

The Patient Service Associate is responsible to ensure smooth clinic, patient and billing flow by greeting and directing patients to their various appointments, preparing the daily clinic schedule and updating the physicians’ schedules, maintaining patient files and records, interfacing with the different corporate departments and by receiving and directly patient questions to appropriate people. Works as a team member to facilitate patient care and optimize the revenue.

Responsibilities

• Handle incoming calls.
• Review the charts and insurance referrals/authorizations and taking appropriate action to assure proper maximal reimbursement.
• To assist the physicians and/or administrators in all business and patient care responsibilities.
• Coordinates office communication flow.
• Communicates effectively and courteously with and demonstrates a caring attitude toward patients and their families.
• Greet, direct and assist large numbers of visitors and refers visitors to various areas.
• Ensure all patient demographic and insurance information.
• Answer telephones using correct telephone etiquette at all times, recording legible and complete messages, handling questions, transferring incoming calls appropriately, contacting physicians, insurance companies, hospitals, diagnostic facilities, billing departments, etc… as necessary.
• Review patient intake information to verify insurance coverage.
• Verify patient insurance information, call for insurance authorization, patient address, telephone, etc…
• Responsible for scheduling new and follow up appointments including patient testing.
• Acts in a non-directive, non-judgmental manner, recognizing an individual’s religious, ethical and moral opinions and beliefs.
• Brings new ideas, positive attitude and lots of energy.
• Responsible for maintaining and recording patient schedule.
• Identify and collect co-pays, deductibles and other payments.
• Reconcile patient payments on a daily basis received to cash box and receipt journal.
• Prepare billing sheets.
• Review all billings sheets to ensure they contain necessary information needed to create a claim such as physician name and number, patient name and number, insurance code, referring physician and code, etc…
• Direct billing inquiries to appropriate Regional Office.
• Ensure the clinical staff submits all outpatient billing sheets daily.
• Maintains patient confidentiality.
• Patient chart management, preparation, maintenance, filing, copying, requesting records, etc…
• Provides assistance to other team members when needed.
• Performs other duties as assigned.
• Assures all charge tickets are accounted for and checked off against patient sign in sheet and schedule for optimal billings.
• Displays exceptional customer service skills in responding to all inquiries from patients, insurance carriers, outside agencies, internal departments and coworkers.
• Daily review of charts on patients who have appointments for the following day to verify that all appropriate referral and authorization information has been received.
• Coordinate flow of insurance information with the clinic sites and corporate office.
• Data entry of registration.
• Request insurance codes as needed.
• Maintain audit logs of billings.
• Reception desk and telephones as needed.

Qualifications

• High School diploma or equivalent required.
• Three years recent experience in a related position in a medical office experience preferred.
• Ability to prioritize jobs duties and meet deadlines.
• Ability to effectively work on many tasks at one time.
• Have superior customer service and verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong computer knowledge; experience preferred.
• Knowledge of common safety hazards and precautions to establish a safe work environment.
• Knowledge of medical terminology, obstetrical and/or perinatal coding, office billing forms, insurance and government payer regulations and other third party billing requirements preferred.
• Must be able to work cooperatively in a team environment.
• Ability to handle stressful situations.
• Excellent organizational, time management, and attention to detail capabilities.
• Must be able to travel to satellite office during the week. Mileage is reimbursable.

The above noted job description is not intended to describe, in detail, the multitude of tasks that may be assigned but rather to give the associate a general sense of the responsibilities and expectations of his/her position. As the nature of business demands change so, too, may the essential functions of this position.