Lead Customer Service Specialist

Description

Penn Medicine is dedicated to our tripartite mission of providing the highest level of care to patients, conducting innovative research, and educating future leaders in the field of medicine. Working for this leading academic medical center means collaboration with top clinical, technical and business professionals across all disciplines.

Today at Penn Medicine, someone will make a breakthrough. Someone will heal a heart, deliver hopeful news, and give comfort and reassurance. Our employees shape our future each day. Are you living your life's work?

Position Summary

The Patient Access Lead supports the Supervisor/Manager in the day-to-day operations of Patient Access services, ensuring efficient workflow, exceptional customer service, and operational excellence. This role serves as a key resource for registration staff, providing training, guidance, and support while assisting with workload management, quality assurance, and performance monitoring. The Patient Access Lead helps resolve complex registration and scheduling issues, maintains department compliance with policies and procedures, and promotes effective communication across the team. The ideal candidate is adaptable, detail-oriented, and capable of thriving in a fast-paced healthcare environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary resource for Patient Access and registration staff, providing guidance and support on registration, scheduling, and operational processes.
• Perform all registration functions, including patient registration, scheduling, insurance verification, and related patient access activities.
• Assist with onboarding and training of new team members, while providing ongoing education and support to existing staff.
• Maintain and update training materials, policies, and procedure manuals; communicate process updates and departmental information to staff.
• Identify and escalate operational issues, policy concerns, or workflow challenges to leadership, and assist in implementing solutions.
• Conduct quality assurance reviews and audit staff performance to ensure compliance with departmental standards and accuracy requirements.
• Assist in monitoring authorization denials and support process improvement initiatives.
• Provide input and feedback for employee performance evaluations.
• Support daily department operations by monitoring productivity, adjusting staffing coverage as needed, and ensuring operational goals are achieved.
• Demonstrate flexibility and adaptability to meet the needs of patients, staff, and leadership.
• Act as the department resource for software, system, and process-related questions, partnering with leadership to resolve issues and communicate solutions.
• Assist with employee recruitment efforts, including participation in interviews and candidate evaluations.
• Support special projects, reporting initiatives, and other administrative responsibilities as assigned.
• May be required to travel occasionally between regional locations.
  
  

Minimum Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED required.
• Associate’s Degree preferred.
• Minimum of one (1) year of experience as a Customer Service Specialist or in a related customer-facing role.
• Minimum of one (1) year of Revenue Cycle experience within a hospital, healthcare, or medical office environment.
• Minimum of one (1) year of clerical, administrative support, or customer service experience in a highly service-oriented setting.
• Minimum of one (1) year of experience using computers, standard office equipment, and data entry/keyboarding applications.
  
  

Preferred Skills & Competencies

• Strong knowledge of patient registration, scheduling, and insurance verification processes.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to multitask and prioritize responsibilities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Experience training, coaching, or mentoring team members.
• Ability to analyze data, identify trends, and support process improvement initiatives.
• Proficiency with healthcare information systems and Microsoft Office applications.
  
  

Why Join Our Team?

As a Patient Access Lead, you will play a vital role in ensuring seamless patient experiences while supporting the development and success of a high-performing team. This position offers opportunities for leadership growth, professional development, and meaningful impact within a patient-centered healthcare environment.

We believe that the best care for our patients starts with the best care for our employees. Our employee benefits programs help our employees get healthy and stay healthy. We offer a comprehensive compensation and benefits program that includes one of the finest prepaid tuition assistance programs in the region. Penn Medicine employees are actively engaged and committed to our mission. Together we will continue to make medical advances that help people live longer, healthier lives.

Live Your Life's Work

We are an Equal Opportunity employer. Candidates are considered for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, familial status, genetic information, domestic or sexual violence victim status, citizenship status, military status, status as a protected veteran or any other status protected by applicable law.