Position Summary: Will handle most clerical duties associated with a medical clinic.
The job of Patient Services Specialist (PSS) is divided into “stations.” Each station has a distinct set of job duties, which includes job duties that usually are performed by one employee in a usual day. However, in addition to the “usual” duties of the station they are sitting in, every PSS employee is required and expected to assist their co-workers in performing every job duty of a PSS at all times. All employees hired for the Patient Services Specialist position will be expected to learn and perform all duties of all front office stations.
Due to the different FCS office layouts, the person doing the named station that day or week may not perform some of the listed job duties.
Required Qualifications: Experience in the healthcare field is highly preferred. Attention to detail with strong ability to multitask. Excellent interpersonal skills.
Strong communication skills with a wide variety of personalities.
Key Performance Areas: New Patient Appointments
- Primary station for scheduling of all New and Hospital Follow-up patients. Provides all parties needing the information with copy of demographic sheet with date and time of appointment as well as any pertinent insurance information.
2. Assemble all new patient and Hospital Follow-Up (HFU) charts. Obtain pertinent information for patient’s appointments by calling referring Doctor, hospital, labs, etc. Must verify all records received. (Depending on office operation, i.e. handled at other PSS station at some offices).
- Responsible for all physician requests regarding schedule changes, patient appointments, etc.
4. Check all schedules for the following week for errors, gaps between patients, etc. and fix any problems before Friday.
5. Responsible to work with physicians to assign new patients to appropriate clinician per office policy, if applicable. Keeps records of physician assignments, dates, and diagnoses, if applicable.
- Answer telephones promptly and route calls or take messages as appropriate. Must understand and follow the policy for emergency calls.
Key Performance Areas: Check-in Station
- Check sign-in list as patients arrive for appointments. Promptly note patient’s arrival in EMR system and note the patient’s location to notify appropriate staff of patient’s arrival.
- Verify the patient’s identity according to FCS’ Patient I.D. policy and either affixes the patient’s name label on the patient’s shoulder or hands the patient the label and ensures that he/she affixes the label on their shoulder area.
- Collect patient co-pays at time of sign-in and print or write a receipt and give to the patient. Notify Financial Counselor if patient is unable to make payment. Receipts are written or printed and given to patient. Post all payments in computer. Log payment on A/R sheets.
- Copy insurance cards and picture I.D. of all new patients. Be sure patient completes medical history forms and notify Financial Counselor of the arrival of the patient as needed.
- Verify information on the patient’s demographic sheet. Have patient initial and date every 30 days and in January of every year.
- Answer telephone promptly and route calls or take messages as appropriate. Relay messages to the doctor on rounds.
- Responsible for taking phones off the answering service promptly at 9:00 A.M. and for switching calls to answering service at 5:00 P.M.
- Retrieve messages left with answering service/voice mail and distribute as necessary. Take hospital consult information and relay to physicians and Hospital Rounds Coordinator or other assigned person.
9. Contact patients who do not keep appointment to determine reason and reschedule. Document the call and reason in patient’s Onco/EMR. If patient cannot be reached by phone, send appropriate letter. Cancel missed appointments in computer to produce clean schedules at end of the workday. Forward sign-in sheets to the EDI Department at the corporate office.
10.Schedule in computer or designated calendar, physician’s meetings and drug representative’s lunches.
- Give death certificate to physician for signature. Call funeral home when paperwork is completed.
- Run trial close each day. Fax appropriate information to the business office according to FCS policy.
- Contact patients the day before their appointment to remind them of appointment time. Reschedule appointments as needed.
- Compile and distribute information sheets and discs for the PET Scanner in those offices where applicable.
Key Performance Areas: Check-Out Station
- Schedule follow-up appointments for clinic as directed by physician’s orders and depart patients out of EMR system.
- Schedule outside testing, referrals to other physicians and hospital admissions as ordered by physicians, if applicable.
- Print out patient’s list of appointments and explain each appointment, if applicable. If outside testing requires preparation, give the patient the preparation and non-prescription medication and explain process to patient/family member.
- Request and collect payment from patients as stated on A/R Report and/or computer. Notify financial counselor if patient is unable to make payment. Receipts are written or printed and given to patient. Post credit card payments in computer. Log payment on A/R sheets.
- Work with physician and nursing staff to establish manageable daily schedules. (i.e., know how many patients a particular physician can see in one day, and adjust schedule if necessary to alleviate patient load).
- Maintain schedules to be sure patients are rescheduled to accommodate physician’s vacations, conferences, and personal appointments.
- Run trial close daily. Verify with office manager and fax to business office.
8. Notifies financial counselor of any insurance change or STAT outside scheduling, or hospital admission.
9. Answers phones promptly and routes calls or takes messages as appropriate.
- Balance cash drawer in AM and PM daily. Handles cash drawer according to FCS procedure.
- Checks and maintains front staff and medical record query reports.
Key Performance Areas: Medical Records Station
1. Assemble all new patient and Hospital Follow-Up (HFU) charts. Obtain pertinent information for patient’s appointments by calling referring Doctor, hospital, labs, etc. Must verify all records received. (Depending on office operation, i.e. handled at other PSS station at some offices).
2. Maintain fax machine with supplies. Distribute received faxes promptly.
3. Open, sort, and distribute daily mail and any other reports delivered by lab facilities, home health agencies, etc.
4. Empty courier box upon arrival and distribute interoffice mail promptly.
5. Request from and distributes to outside physicians, correspondence, reports, test results on individual patients. This is accomplished through the medical records activity code in OncoEMR. Front staff activity as well as refer to doctor activity codes are also initiated by the FCS physician of record. Medical records, refer to doctor and front staff reports are run daily and processed accordingly.
6. Fax or mail records requested by patients or outside physicians.
7. Send charts to corporate office for copying by outside copying company in response to subpoenas or other legal requests per policy.
8. Answer telephones promptly and route calls or take messages as appropriate.
9. Run daily close each day. Fax appropriate information to the business office.
Key Performance Areas: Fax Server
- Checks fax server periodically throughout the day for new faxes to be filed.
- Always verifies date of birth before selecting account to file records.
- Deletes faxes once they have been labeled and filed correctly.
- Notifies Onco/Emr support or office manager to remove faxes that were filed incorrectly in patient’s chart.
- Notifies Onco support or office manager when a procedure is missing from the Name/Subject drop down list to be added.
- Files all documents in the correct category and with the correct document Name/Subject.
Key Performance Areas: Chart Preparation Station
- Reviews scheduler and checks for all tests and/or referrals ordered from last doctor visit to present day and checks in chart and Onco/EMR for documents.
- Requests missing information from facility or provider and has them faxed to the stat fax line and then files record in chart.
- Ensures that no duplicate or incomplete documents are filed.
- Creates paperless chart by faxing all pathology, operative, last procedure, most current radiology reports, and history and physical to the general fax line.
- Once complete records have been sent to the fax manager, writes initials on chart to denote that the paperless chart has been created.
Job Duties Common to all stations:
- Perform the tasks of other patient services specialist stations that employee has been trained for. Will be expected to cover other stations for absences, lunches, vacations, etc.
- Answer incoming telephone calls in an appropriate manner.
- Comply with all Federal and State laws and regulations pertaining to patient care, patients’ rights, safety, billing, and collections. Adhere to all FCS and departmental policies and procedures, including IT policies and procedures and disaster recovery plan.
- Assist in training other FCS employees.
- Keep work area and records in a neat and orderly manner.
- Maintain all company equipment in a safe and working order.
- Maintain and ensure the confidentiality of all patient and employee information at all times in accordance to policy and HIPAA regulations.
- Will be expected to work at any FCS location to help meet FCS business needs.
Expectation For All Employees
Supports the organization's mission, vision, and values by exhibiting the following behaviors: excellence and competence, collaboration, innovation, respect personalization, commitment to our community, and accountability and ownership.
Essential Physical Requirements:
· Ability to travel independently throughout the facility to access information from other departments.
· Ability to sit for long periods of time.
· Ability to travel independently throughout the facility to access information from other departments.
· Ability to stand, walk, bend, and stoop.
· Ability to reach, grasp, manipulate equipment, type and file.
· Ability to talk and hear and communicate effectively.
Essential Mental Requirements:
· Ability to work under stress, with interruptions and deadlines.
· Ability to process verbal information and input this information into computer system.
· Ability to follow complex instructions.
· Ability to master basic math skills.
· Ability to think logically in following procedures and instructions.
· Ability to utilize the FCS information system.
Essential Technical/Motor Skills:
· Ability to enter and retrieve data from computer.
· Ability to operate modern office business machinery.
· Ability to operate phone system.
Essential Sensory Requirements:
· Ability to converse in calm and friendly manner.
· Ability to view data on computer information system and in various written formats.
· Ability to communicate on the phone.
Interpersonal Skills:
· Ability to effectively communicate and interact with coworkers, hospital staff, patients, public, physicians, and their staff.