Director of Front Office Operations

Department: Visalia, Corporate Office

Reports to: Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Scope: Owns the centralized call center/central scheduling function and sets the operational standards for front office performance at each clinic (registration, check-in/check-out, patient communication, scheduling support).

Key partners: Clinic Directors/CLPs, clinical leaders, revenue cycle/billing, compliance/privacy, IT/EMR support, marketing/referral partners.

Job Summary

The Director of Front Office Operations leads the end-to-end patient access and “first impression” experience across all clinic locations. This role is accountable for the performance of the central scheduling/call center team and for ensuring clinic front office operations are consistent, efficient, compliant, and patient-centered.

Success is defined by timely access to care, accurate scheduling and intake, reduced cancellations/no-shows, high patient satisfaction, strong staff performance, and retention—delivered through clear workflows, training, quality monitoring, and KPI-driven Improvement.

Primary Responsibilities

Lead Centralized Call Center and Central Scheduling

•  Direct daily operations for inbound/outbound calls, appointment scheduling, referral intake, insurance verification support, and patient inquiries.
•  Establish call handling standards (professional greeting, scripting, documentation requirements, escalation rules, after-hours processes).
• Build and maintain a quality program (call monitoring, coaching, calibration, and corrective action when needed).
• Manage workforce planning (staffing levels, schedules, forecasting, coverage plans) to meet demand across multiple locations.

 Set Standards and Improve Clinic Front Office Operations

• Define and maintain front office SOPs for registration, check-in/check-out, scheduling workflows, patient communication, and clinic-to-call-center handoffs.
• Partner with Clinic Directors/CLPs to coach, develop, and hold front office teammates accountable to consistent standards.
• Anticipate and address patient flow issues and implement countermeasures.

Optimize Patient Access and Scheduling Integrity

• Ensure schedules align with therapist availability, clinic capacity, and clinical requirements (visit types, durations, plan-of-care needs).
• Implement waitlist and “fill open slots” processes to reduce lost visits and improve utilization.
• Partner with clinical leadership to maintain scheduling rules and templates and reduce rework caused by scheduling errors.

Oversee Referral Intake, Insurance Verification, and Authorization Readiness (Front-End)

• Standardize referral intake workflows and required documentation tracking to prevent delays in care.
• Oversee processes for eligibility verification and authorization readiness (in coordination with revenue cycle/billing as applicable).
• Ensure patients receive accurate, consistent guidance on required documentation, insurance steps, and clinic policies.

 Drive Service Recovery and Patient Communication Excellence

• Create and monitor service recovery workflows to address patient concerns quickly and empathetically.
• Define escalation pathways to clinic leadership/operations and ensure issues are resolved and trended for systemic fixes.
• Train teams on de-escalation, professionalism, and patient-centered communication across phone, email, and digital channels.

 Ensure HIPAA Compliance and Operational Risk Controls

• Maintain HIPAA-compliant handling of PHI across all channels and locations; ensure audit readiness.
• Establish standards for identity verification, documentation practices, and secure communication.
• Partner with compliance and IT to ensure appropriate system access and privacy safeguards.

Own KPI Reporting, Performance Management, and Continuous Improvement

• Define, track, and report KPIs for call center, scheduling, and front office operations; run regular performance reviews.
• Use data to identify root causes and implement improvements (workflow redesign, training, staffing changes, technology fixes).
• Maintain current SOPs, job aids, and training materials; ensure adoption and sustained performance.

 Own Enabling Technology (operationally) for Patient Access

• Serve as the operational owner for phone systems/contact center tools, scheduling platforms, and EMR workflows that impact patient access.
• Partner with IT/vendors to implement improvements (routing/IVR, reporting, call recording/QA tools, online scheduling rules where applicable).
• Ensure staff proficiency across systems through training and ongoing support.

Lead and Develop Teams

• Hire, onboard, and develop call center staff, support clinic leaders with training standards for the front office.
• Set clear expectations and build a culture of accountability and service excellence.
•  Create training plans covering basic medical terminology, scheduling rules, documentation standards, and patient communication.

 Budget and Vendor Management (if applicable)

• Manage budgets related to patient access operations (staffing, software, vendors) and support business cases for needed tools.
• Oversee vendor relationships tied to call center and scheduling operations.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration, business, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• 3–5 years of call center management or centralized scheduling leadership, preferably in outpatient healthcare (PT/OT/rehab strongly preferred).
• Proven experience managing multi-location operations and improving performance through KPIs and coaching.
• Working knowledge of referral intake, insurance eligibility verification, and authorization workflows.
• Experience with EMR/EHR platforms and contact center technology (routing/IVR, QA/call monitoring, reporting).
• Strong leadership, communication, problem-solving, and change management skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in physical therapy or similar high-volume outpatient settings.
• Familiarity with PT EMR platforms (e.g., WebPT, Raintree, Epic, Athena) or comparable systems.
• Experience partnering with revenue cycle to prevent front-end leakage and reduce care delays.
• Experience implementing new scheduling/contact center tools and leading adoption across teams.

Key Skills and Competencies

• Patient-centered communication and service mindset; models professionalism and calm under pressure.
• Operational discipline: builds SOPs, trains them, audits adherence, and improves processes.
• Data-driven management: dashboards, trend analysis, root-cause problem solving, action planning. Workforce planning and performance coaching; able to build and sustain high-performing teams.
• Clear cross-functional collaboration with clinic leaders, providers, and administrative teams. 
• Strong understanding of HIPAA/privacy standards and secure handling of patient information.
• Technology fluency and continuous improvement orientation .

Performance Metrics

• Patient satisfaction (including ease of scheduling/registration)
• Speed to answer / average wait time; abandon rate
• New patient conversion (referral → scheduled → attended first visit)
• No-show and cancellation rates; same-day fill/waitlist utilization
• Schedule utilization rate, scheduling accuracy, and rework/error rates
• Average handle time (AHT) and first call resolution (FCR), balanced with quality scores
• Referral/authorization readiness cycle time (as applicable)
• Staff productivity, quality scores, and retention

Work Environment

• Clinic-based and/or centralized call center environment; hybrid/remote may be available depending on business needs.
• Occasional travel between clinic locations may be required for training, audits, and rollouts.
• May require flexible hours during growth periods, system changes, or high-volume seasons.