ASSOCIATE ACCESS SPECIALIST

**Discover Vanderbilt University Medical Center:** Located in Nashville, Tennessee, and operating at a global crossroads of teaching, discovery, and patient care, VUMC is a community of diverse individuals who come to work each day with the simple aim of changing the world. It is a place where your expertise will be valued, your knowledge expanded, and your abilities challenged. Vanderbilt Health recognizes that diversity is essential for excellence and innovation. We are committed to an inclusive environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and where your diversity of culture, thinking, learning, and leading is sought and celebrated. It is a place where employees know they are part of something that is bigger than themselves, take exceptional pride in their work and never settle for what was good enough yesterday. Vanderbilt's mission is to advance health and wellness through preeminent programs in patient care, education, and research.

**Organization:**

Care Connections - Transition

**Job Summary:**

Associate Access Specialist - Patient Access Center - Full Time (Remote)

Note: This position is 100% remote and operates in a virtual work environment. Interviews, Onboarding, and Training will be virtual. High speed wired internet required. Currently the Department's Hours of Operations are Monday - Friday 7am to 5:30pm.

JOB SUMMARY

The Vanderbilt University Medical Center Patient Access Services (PAS) - Associate Access Specialist role will operate within the Care Connections Contact Center. This role will provide service to patients and providers via inbound and outbound calls while scheduling appointments, capturing messages for the clinic staff and providers, and addressing the needs of the customer with occasional guidance while ensuring KPI goals are met. The Care Connections Associate Access Specialist will be responsible for scheduling patient appointments, escalates patients' health concerns in accordance with individual division guidelines, provides connections to resources for clinical advice and guidance, and navigates complex situations while making sound effective decisions.

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KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

- Answers calls for multiple areas in efficient and effective manner using standard greetings for opening of call, content of call and closure of call.

- Ensures accuracy in answering questions and assisting customer with requests to meet their needs.

- Demonstrate exceptional customer service and patient focus to make each encounter extraordinary.

- Verify and accurately capture patient demographics, insurance, and appropriate medical information.

- Schedule appointments using appropriate electronic system while following appropriate protocols for clinic/area, including prioritizing patient's health concerns according to the department's urgency.

- Ensure that patient questions and problems are resolved efficiently, effectively, and expeditiously

- Provide information to patients and callers regarding appointment, date, time, location, clinic guidelines, parking, etc.

- Initiate and complete service recovery as warranted to drive patient loyalty, patient satisfaction, and protect the clinic/patient relationship

- Captures customer information and document using messaging system to clinic staff and/or providers.

- Schedules appointments in electronic systems using guidelines for area/department including prioritizing patients' health problems according to their urgency, educating/advising patients and making safe, effective decisions.

- Provides information to customer regarding appointment location, process steps, parking, etc.

- The responsibilities listed are a general overview of the position and additional duties may be assigned.

Operational and Patient Access Center Protocol

- Interview patient/guarantor to obtain complete demographic, clinical, billing, insurance, and financial information

- Create patient charts by entering required information into electronic databases and maintain accurate records

- Relay information to relevant clinic staff members through the appropriate messaging systems

- Ensure the quality of patient registrations by obtaining thorough and accurate information in a timely and efficient manner

- Follows well established processes to solve routine problems where solutions are clearly prescribed.

- Maintain compliance with HIPAA rules and regulations

- Follows a well-established process to solve routine problems where solutions are clearly prescribed.

Patient Access Services

Associate Access Specialist, Full Time (Remote)

Care Connections

Development, Innovation and Quality

- Attend developmental training as required

- Participate in side-by-side coaching sessions to ensure continuous improvement of performance

- Willingly proposes/accepts ideas or initiative that will impact day-to-day operations by offering suggestions to enhance them.

- Shows eagerness to learn new knowledge, technologies, tools, or systems and displays willingness to go above and beyond.

- Perform additional duties and tasks as assigned by management.

- Openly shares information with others and communicates in a clear and courteous manner.

- Solves complex problems by seeking to understand issues, solving routine problems, and raising proper concerns to supervisors and appropriate contact center personnel in a timely manner.

- Takes responsibility for completing assigned activities and thinks beyond standard approaches to provide high-quality work/service.

- Absorbs new technology quickly; understands when to utilize the appropriate tools and procedures to ensure proper course of action.

- Embraces change by keeping an open mind to changing plans and incorporates change instructions into own area of work.

TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES

- Customer Service (Fundamental Awareness): A continuing focus on the needs and requirements of customers, anticipating their needs, remaining sensitive to customers while performing services for them, responsive to customer needs.

- Patient Scheduling (Fundamental Awareness): The ability to coordinate and schedule patient appointments, surgeries and other office visits with various computer systems in the hospital or clinic.

- Call Center Telephone Etiquette (Fundamental Awareness): Able to handle patient or provider calls and contribute positively to the call center working environment. Demonstrates good manners, decorum and appropriate protocols. Avoids and neutralizes conflicts and handles difficult callers in a positive and professional way.

- Patient Satisfaction (Fundamental Awareness): Participates in patient satisfaction related process improvement activities as well as providing high quality contact experience for the patient with every call. This position also has direct effect on ease of scheduling appointment and ease of getting clinic on the phone.

Qualifications and Required Skills/Abilities

Required:

- High School Diploma or equivalent required. AS/BS degree in Business Administration, Healthcare, or related field preferred.

- Minimum of 1 year of medical office experience, scheduling environment, or patient access center required. 2+ years' experience in healthcare or patient access preferred.

- 1-2 years relevant experience in a contact center and/or customer service environment

- Strong verbal/written communication and organizational skills

- Adept at displaying patience and compassion when speaking to patients and callers

- Ability to type 40 - 45 WPM and effectively navigate using multiple systems

- Display professional demeanor

- Able to work in a remote environment while performing required duties and remaining patient focused

Preferred:

- AS/BS degree in Business Administration, Healthcare, or related field

- 2+ years of experience in healthcare or patient access

- Knowledge of medical terminology and insurance plans

Skills/Knowledge/Competencies

- Must be team-oriented, highly organized, detail oriented and have successfully demonstrated the ability to manage multiple priorities

- Proven customer service skills and the ability to resolve problems and prevent patient dissatisfaction while ensuring quality standards are met

- Ability to consistently utilize the appropriate and approved tools and protocols to handle patient calls

- Ability to diffuse escalated patient situations and ensure best practices in delivery of service

- Entry to intermediate knowledge of MS Office Suite including technical and computer skills

- Ability to navigate quickly within various computer programs

- Sound verbal and written communication skills, as well as strong listening skills

- Problem-solving skills with an ability to think quickly under pressure

- Ability to handle high call volume and answer patient questions in a timely manner

- Ability to improve accuracy and quality

- Ability to work varying shifts including early mornings/evenings and/or weekends to attend meetings and cross training or support other initiatives

- Demonstrated ability to maintain confidentiality using tact and diplomacy

- Ability to work independently and in a team setting with some supervision

Our professional administrative functions include critical supporting roles in information technology and informatics, finance, administration, legal and community affairs, human resources, communications and marketing, development, facilities, and many more.

At our growing health system, we support each other and encourage excellence among all who are part of our workforce. High-achieving employees stay at Vanderbilt Health for professional growth, appreciation of benefits, and a sense of community and purpose.

**Core Accountabilities:**

* Organizational Impact: Performs clearly defines tasks and methods described in detail to achieve standardized solutions that impact own performance with regular guidance. * Problem Solving/ Complexity of work: Follows a well established process to solve routine problems where solutions are clearly prescribed. * Breadth of Knowledge: Has basic job knowledge of systems and procedures that are common to own job. * Team Interaction: Individually contributes to the team.

**Core Capabilities** **:**

Delivering Excellent Services : Serves Others with Compassion: Invests time to understand the problems, needs of others and how to provide excellent service. Solves Complex Problems: Seeks to understand issues, solves routine problems, and raises proper concerns in a timely manner. Offers Meaningful Advice and Support: Listens carefully to understand the issues and provides accurate information and support. Ensuring High Quality : Performs Excellent Work: Checks work quality before delivery and asks relevant questions to meet quality standards. Ensures Continuous Improvement: Shows eagerness to learn new knowledge, technologies, tools or systems and displays willingness to go above and beyond. Fulfills Safety and Regulatory Requirements: Demonstrates basic knowledge of conditions that affect safety and reports unsafe conditions to the appropriate person or department. Managing Resources Effectively: Demonstrates Accountability: Takes responsibility for completing assigned activities and thinks beyond standard approaches to provide high-quality work/service. Stewards Organizational Resources: Displays understanding of how personal actions will impact departmental resources.Makes Data Driven Decisions: Uses accurate information and good decision making to consistently achieve results on time and without error. Fostering Innovation :Generates New Ideas: Willingly proposes/accepts ideas or initiatives that will impact day-to-day operations by offering suggestions to enhance them. - Applies Technology: Absorbs new technology quickly; understands when to utilize the appropriate tools and procedures to ensure proper course of action. - Adapts to Change: Embraces changes by keeping an open mind to changing plans and incorporates change instructions into own area of work.

**Position Qualifications:**

**Responsibilities:**

**Certifications:**

**Work Experience:**

Relevant Work Experience

**Experience Level:**

1 year

**Education:**

High School Diploma or GED

Vanderbilt Health recognizes that diversity is essential for excellence and innovation. We are committed to an inclusive environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and to the principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action. EOE/AA/Women/Minority/Vets/Disabled

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