Primary Function:

Duties & Responsibilities:

Practice Secretary Level I Tasks

• Observe and monitor the patient waiting area to identify patients waiting for greater than 15 minutes past their scheduled appointment time Liaison with the Medical Assistants (MAs) and communicate with the patients regarding the wait time if waits do exceed 15 minutes.
• Assist patients in the completion of required screening forms; such as SDOH and PHQ-9 forms whenever possible, but particularly when patients have literacy or language barriers. Assist in facilitating the screening completion process by making sure the MA obtains the completed or in-process screening forms.
• Check out patients after their office visits, scheduling any requested follow up appointments or add patients on a follow-up work queue if an appointment is not scheduled at that time.
• Consistently manage In-Basket appointment request messages in the patient EMR (Electronic Medical Record) on a daily basis. Schedule patient follow up appointments as directed or follow-up by sending a letter to the patient as determined by established workflows.
• Document any outreach attempt outcomes in the patient EMR.
• Coordinate Late Arrival Policy & Procedure to determine if patients arriving late will be seen.
• Interface with Urgent Care to direct patients from Urgent Care and schedule in Primary Care when applicable.
• Fully register and/or check in patients when needed. This includes demographic and account updates, coverage verification, co-pay collection, and updating required documents.
• Facilitate newborn appointment scheduling per the hospital discharge protocols.
• Enroll and educate patients on MyChart
• Provide excellent customer service, de-escalate patient situations appropriately, including following the Color Code procedures when applicable.
• Actively and professionally attend and participate in meetings
• Review documents including utility letters, medical refills, and faxes and ensure that all necessary fields are correctly filled. Submit reviewed and completed documents to Practice Secretary level II/III for quality assurance and processing.
• Manage patients that ‘no show’ for their appointments, following the No Show Policy & Procedure.
• Completes reassignment of patients to providers with the direction of Medical Leadership and/or Clinical Leadership
• Perform other duties as needed

In addition to all above listed duties for a Level I, a Level II must also demonstrate consistent competence in the following tasks:

Practice Secretary Level II Tasks

• Assist in training and onboarding new Practice Secretary hires
• Work Queue maintenance; closing or canceling completed requests per established workflow. Forwarding appointment request to Medical Assistants as indicated.
• Provide day to day guidance, direction and support for Lvl I Practice Secretaries when team lead is not available
• Verify documentation for Motor Vehicle Accident and Workers Compensation related visits are completed and updated in patient’s EMR account. In cases where documentation is incomplete, communicate with the patient and/or provider regarding patient self-payment responsibilities.
• Adjust guarantor or coverage assignment when changes to patient’s account are needed.
• Process patient utility letter requests and medication refill requests. Assure accuracy of all associated documents.
• Process and manage all incoming and outgoing faxes for the practice, including forms from external agencies.
• Assist Practice Secretary Level I with patient de-escalation and other escalated or out of the ordinary patient issues or needs.
• Provide a supportive and positive team-oriented environment among the Practice Secretaries.
• Facilitate a strong and positive working relationship with Medical Assistants, Nurses, Providers and all other staff that interface with Practice Secretaries.

In addition to all above competencies for a Level I, Practice Secretary Level II must also demonstrate consistent competence in the following tasks:

• Ability to work evenings, Saturdays, and /or Holidays
• Demonstrated ability to effectively manage high volume patient flow situations and use appropriate judgement to request assistance as needed
• Elevated problem-solving skills and judgment
• Experience and demonstrated proficiency in computer systems, EMR and/or PC-based software, such as EPIC/OCHIN, AthenaHealth and/or Dentrix.
• Ability to work with persons with disabilities and seniors
• Experience working in a fast-paced, culturally and linguistically diverse environment
• Ability to multi task on at least two computer-based applications at the same time.
• Excellent organization, time management and customer service skills.
• Ability to work effectively and in harmony with a team

Independent Action:

Supervisory Responsibility: