Patient Services Representative

Patient Services Representative

The Patient Service Representative (PSR) position is the first point of phone customer service contact for our patients, physicians, other clinic staff, internal and external laboratory and imaging staff, hospital staff, patient family members, and vendors. As a PSR, your role is to provide prompt, accurate, courteous and helpful phone and related assistance to all callers through a variety of communication channels including voice, chat, email, and text. A Patient Service Representative may also perform a variety of other duties including but not limited to collecting and updating demographics and insurance information, verification of health plan eligibility, taking complete and accurate messages, and scheduling mutually acceptable appointment times utilizing an electronic appointment management system, electronic health record, and contact center system.

Essential duties include the following :

Schedule and register patient appointments and / or provide information for other requests (e.g., addresses / directions, phone numbers, hours of operations, other departments, such as billing, etc.). Process all phone, fax, email, and other communication channel requests with an emphasis on efficiency and accuracy.

As appropriate, assist new members with introduction to and explanation of available services, processes and availability of providers.

Update patients of the status of their referral or authorizations.

Answers, screens, and processes a high volume of incoming calls in a professional manner. Directs patient access to the practice by scheduling and canceling patient appointments for multiple providers.

Utilizes and adheres to a phone script, clinical decision trees and scheduling criteria following department guidelines.

Uses independent knowledge within scope of knowledge and training to determine the type of appointment needed and urgency to schedule the patient to the appropriate provider or route the call to the appropriate resource.

Communicates to patients and internal and external ordering physicians' offices, complex exam preparations instructions including, but not limited to, pre-procedure laboratory test requirements and other necessary preparations instructions.

Sends out accurate and complete communication to physicians or other healthcare providers.

Determine the reason for the call and assist the caller with their questions, concerns or problems with the focus on first call resolution. Facilitate patient issue-resolution by referring the matter to an issue / content expert. Escalate the matter to a supervisor, request the appropriate information or take appropriate action so that the issue expert is able to effectively resolve the matter.

Ability to comprehend and communicate clearly and effectively (both verbally and in writing) with medical center staff, patients, families, and other internal and external customers.

Ability to perform essential job functions with a high degree of independence, flexibility, and creative problem solving.

Ability to maintain control of the call by de-escalating issues and instilling confidence that the resolution has or can be found. Ability to clearly articulate a response to the patient using appropriate voice modulation.

Exceptional patient / customer service skills including effective and efficient problem solving and analytical skills.

Meet Quality Assurance requirements and other key performance metrics.

Ability to provide a high level of customer service to patients, visitors, staff and external customers in a professional, service-oriented, respectful manner using skills in active listening and problem solving. Ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

As described by the DHMF Way, True North. Focus at all times on improving the patient's experience by delivering on a culture of yes.

Problem solves to maximize opportunities and minimize unnecessary steps.

Keeps work spaces and all patient areas clean and clutter free.

Maintains professional appearance and follows all dress code guidelines.

Flexible to change work hours / days, and floats to support others.

Initiates ways to increase Physician productivity.

Utilizes and maintains equipment properly to minimize repair and service calls, maximize equipment longevity, and increase cost effectiveness.

Orders only necessary items, maintains PAR levels, and shares supplies to eliminate unnecessary spending.

Utilizes work time efficiently through proper time management.

Adheres to time and attendance policies and procedures.

Promptly refers patients to the billing office for extensive billing questions.

Documents insurance cards, referrals, auths and other billing data.

Encourages feedback from patients and co-workers.

Seeks alternative ways of doing things quicker with less resources.

Ask questions.

Reports items that require attention.

Share ideas and give feedback.

Initiates and offers ideas and solutions when problems arise.

Can verbalize fire and disaster plan.

Meets all OSHA standards.

Attends all required training as scheduled and timely completes all required online training.

Knows how to utilize the incident reporting system and compliance hot line.

Adheres to all patient confidentiality requirements.