Patient Services Associate

**Competitive Benefits, Career Growth Opportunities and Tuition Assistance at University of Pennsylvania! **

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?

Job Duty/Responsibilities:

• · Check out patients and schedule any follow up visits or new consults per department scheduling protocols

• • o This includes same day (or future) lab appointments and x-rays

  • · Monitor and respond to patient questions and appointment requests via MPM

    · Answer phones and messages and route messages to correct team/providers

    · Document all patient related interactions in patients Electronic Medical Record and route encounters appropriately

    · Handle real-time patient requests such as refill, forms pick-up/drop off, lab order requests, etc.

    · Call patients that need to be rescheduled due to provider service/vacation dates and call outs

    o 3 points of contact: a phone call to the patient, message via MPM, and letter in the mail

    · Schedule/convert appointments to telemedicine when appropriate and check in same day telemedicine appointments

    · Send No Show letters out to patients with consecutive no-show appointments

    · Disinfect the waiting area throughout the day

    · Call patients referred by Penn providers to make appointments via work queue or orders pool

    · Call insurances/use online portals to obtain insurance referrals for visit

    · Handle escalated authorizations for non-par patients for both office visits/GI procedures if needed

    · Collect payments from patients for Travel Medicine or copays for patients that detour from Central Check-In

    · Respond to staff messages from providers with requests for patient outreach, scheduling, etc.

    · Collaborate with other departments, call centers, and central registration via Microsoft Teams late patient notification, time-sensitive questions, or escalated paients

    · Collaborate with providers and clinical staff for late patients or expedited scheduling requests

    · Schedule GI procedures

    · Sort and distribute e-faxes, mail and records request

Safety:

• Participates in Entity and Department wide initiatives for

• Patient /Employee safety

• Demonstrates an awareness of patient/ employee safety when carrying out daily responsibilities of their position.

Patient Service:

• Takes accountability for ensuring patient/work areas are neat and clean.

• Orders supplies, as requested, for practice/department.

• As per practice/department protocols and/or measurements: answer phones/retrieve voicemails in a timely manner, manage/handle patient requests and route appropriately, take thorough messages and route appropriately through EPIC.

• Schedule patient appointments (on phone or in person) accurately and completely:

• Utilizes knowledge of schedules and protocols

• Uses proper billing area/appointment location

• Cancels/reschedules appointments as needed and changes appointment status in EPIC

• Communicates changes to patient and confirms appointments.

• If scheduling patients via telephone, remind patient what to bring to appointment (insurance card, test results, referrals, etc.). Encourages patients, as appropriate, to sign up for My Penn Medicine.

• Responsible for arriving/departing activities of patient at practice and performs point of service activities

• Obtains insurance cards, copays, signatures/forms, referrals/authorizations as required and updates EPIC accordingly

• Finalizes all check-out procedures as per practice protocol

• Communicates with patients regarding patient flow and wait times – keeps manager aware of potential issues as they arise.

• Issues referrals and obtains pre-authorizations for patients as required

• Successfully navigate and resolve EPIC work queues – escalate as needed

• Perform other duties as requested or assigned.

Financial:

• Maintains up to date knowledge of insurance requirements pertinent to patient service and billing procedures: including basic knowledge of all managed care plans UPHS participates with and which insurers require a copayment or referral.

• Achieves proficiency in automated systems; such as EPIC APM and EMR (includinginbasket), hospital based EMRs (where necessary),Navinet, credit card machines, IPayment, etc.

• Validates patient demographic/insurance information and/or registers new patients into EPIC using established protocols

• Validates financial responsibility prior to service utilization and completes an accurate financial interview at time of registration

• Records receipts according to practice protocol so as to ensure appropriate end of day reconciliation. Participates in cash reconciliation delineations.

• Generates/runs reports, as requested, related to front-end processes

• Resolve work queues and/or issues from front-end reports which may include the patient pre & post visit, charge review, and others as requested. Proactively prioritizes recovery of missing charges.

Regulatory Compliance:

• Complies with educational and training requirements at prescribed intervals (via Knowledge Link and/or other methods as required).

• Ensures compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local regulatory standards (ex TJC, DOH, FDA, HIPAA, HCFA, DPW, LCGME, SCGME,etc)

• Flexible and readily adopts new processes and is engaged in practice operation changes.

Required Education: