The Access Specialist acts as the first welcome at MNRN for the caller on behalf of outpatient therapy practices, instilling loyalty and anticipating needs, while providing efficient, effective customer relationship management. Elicits and records patient information and inquiries by following established protocols to schedule patient appointments for multiple locations. Facilitates communication between patients and therapy administrative staff. Advocates on the caller/customer behalf to ensure their needs are met and to promote the perfect patient experience. Demonstrates ability to establish and maintain effective relationships with patients and their families through active listening, empathy, courtesy, and professionalism. Must be able to work variable schedule(s) and overtime as necessary and providing access center coverage and assistance. Will perform a variety of assigned clerical and patient care duties essential to the daily operations of the assigned department. These duties may vary by department and/or site and may include: patient registration, patient scheduling, coordinating the physician order, insurance verification and coordination of services for patients
Education

• High School Diploma or GED Or equivalent required and
• Associate's degree preferred and
• Bachelor's degree from a college or university in healthcare or related field preferred

Experience

• 1-2 years 2 years related experience training in a fast-paced customer service industry position medical office setting for therapy/ambulatory offices analyzing resolving customer concerns from basic to complex in nature required and
• 1-2 years Telephonic, typically acquired in a call center role, front desk reception, hospital, or medical office scheduling environment. customer service experience required

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Excellent customer service skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Basic knowledge of Microsoft Office (including Word, Excel, and Outlook).
• Ability to navigate through multiple technology programs simultaneously while speaking on the telephone.
• Ability to type 40 WPM accurately.
• Must be highly organized, process oriented, with the ability to multitask, be flexible, and a self-starter.
• Ability to follow instructions and assist visitors and/or patients without compromising safety, service, care or efficiency.
• Friendly and professional when interacting with patients and visitors at all times.
• Able to project a positive and professional image at all times.
• Able to empathize with, determine, and prioritize MedStar customer needs and provide appropriate solutions.
• Able to remain composed, focused, and demonstrate compassion during stressful situations.
• Able to demonstrate learning and decision-making skills.

Promptly answers assigned extensions using the correct salutation and follows script.

Greets and assists patients on the telephone by triaging patient inquiries and concerns to appropriate clinical and non-clinical team members.

Completes the preliminary intake efficiently, accurately and completely; performs patient updates, scanning, registration, patient scheduling of initial and follow-up appointments based on insurance guidelines, and messaging in the department's practice management (PM) system (if applicable), electronic health record (EHR) or electronic medical record (EMR) depending on department/site.

Demonstrates ability to use various MedStar Health business applications as required to assist with the callers needs.

Performs insurance verification to ensure accuracy of clean claim(s) submission.

Insurance liaison specifics to include; accurate verifications, precise case management, validate and proactively complete authorizations, and retrieval of denials.

Communicates duplicate or multiple medical record accounts to appropriate medical records personnel for merging.

Helps to resolve conflict with effective verbal and written communication in an appropriate manner. Directs, guides, and mentors associates to carry out tasks created by administrative leadership.

Demonstrates teamwork, while encouraging open and direct communication with others in a positive manner.

Contributes to the achievement of established department goals and objectives and adheres to department policies, procedures, quality standards and safety standards. Complies with governmental and accreditation regulations.

Demonstrates behavior consistent with MedStar Health mission, vision, goals, objectives and patient care philosophy.

Displays characteristics of inquiry, empathy, courtesy and respect during communication with customers. Ensures complete communication

(closes the loop and follow up) between key customer groups, including internal and external customers, in an appropriate and timely manner.

Maintains scheduling protocol knowledge base and designated skill set in order meet established goals for scheduling accuracy, daily call metrics, and defined individual/team goals.

Participates in multidisciplinary quality and service improvement teams as appropriate. Participates in meetings, serves on committees and represents the department and hospital/facility in community outreach efforts as appropriate.

May be included in physician practice meetings as required, including training with physician secretaries, regular staff meetings, and/ or other training classes as directed.

Responsible for inbound call handling to identify and assess callers' needs quickly and accurately.

In the Physician Centers Only: Registers and schedules patients for a variety of different physician specialty clinics as well as modifying physician schedules upon request. Works closely with Patient Insurance Specialists, secretaries and nurses to coordinate and schedule procedures and clinics.