Patient Care Coordinator

Boston Medical Center (BMC) is more than a hospital. It´s a network of support and care that touches the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in need each year. It is the largest and busiest provider of trauma and emergency services in New England. Emphasizing community-based care, BMC is committed to providing consistently excellent and accessible health services to all—and is the largest safety-net hospital in New England. The hospital is also the primary teaching affiliate of the nationally ranked Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and a founding partner of Boston HealthNet – an integrated health care delivery systems that includes many community health centers. Join BMC today and help us achieve our Vision 2030 which is a long-term goal to make Boston the healthiest urban population in the world.

Position: Patient Care Coordinator

Department: Department of Surgery (12 divisions/sections)

Schedule: 40 Hours per week - onsite

POSITION SUMMARY:

Under general supervision from the Operations Manager, the Patient Care Coordinator will support Department of Surgery attendings, physician extenders, as well as the department's daily operational needs.

The primary purpose of the job is to serve as a liaison for patients in all communications regarding care rendered in the department.

Serves as a liaison with patients facilitating access to care, gathering information for pre-admission, registration, or admission of inpatients and ambulatory that require surgical or interventional studies. Schedules appointments, verifies demographics and financial information. Obtains pre-authorization from insurance carriers for all surgical cases and follows up on clinic referral needs. Assists the Department of Surgery to meet targets established by Ambulatory Leadership Group.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES / DUTIES:

Responsibilities:

• Will be trained and assigned to cover specific specialties in the Department of Surgery, depending on need for coverage. Normal work week may include standing assignment in one Team or floating across different Teams as needed.

• Greets and provides assistance to visitors, patients and employees in a professional and courteous manner.

• Answers and directs telephone calls and other inquiries to the appropriate person.

• Gathers patient registration data to enter into appropriate systems as required for reimbursement of services rendered.

• Communicates with insurance carriers or other health facilities to ensure that all patients awaiting services have a current referral from their primary care physician.

• Prepares charge and billing information and reports on issues as needed, including taking patient co-pays.

• Composes correspondence, memoranda and spreadsheets, proofreads documents for typographical errors and makes revisions. Submits documents to supervisor or other designated department personnel for approval.

• Assigns a new medical record to new patients and maintains existing records up-to-date.

• Maintains a computerized records management system to ensure an accurate and current data base of records is available.

• Provides research and administrative support for special projects. Prepares data on projects, as requested and/or needed.

• Collates and assembles documents and distributes upon request. This includes specialized information packets, patient packets, and other mass mailings.

• Acts as a liaison with other departments to ensure efficient inter-department communication.

• Schedules procedures based on type, allocation of operative team, time availability and specialty instruments. Schedules surgeries and maintains the operating schedule for surgeons.

• Prior to scheduling verifies that procedure meets medical necessity screening using appropriate software.

• Schedules follow-up appointments; reschedules patients from cancelled or bumped surgical procedures.

• Manages EPIC patient and referral workqueues, including obtaining referrals and authorization to satisfy claim requirements for billing

• Performs all general office duties such as photocopying, filing, and sorting mail. Opens, reviews and distributes interoffice mail. Brings priority items to supervisor's attention. Prepares outgoing mail for pick-up.

• Operates standard office equipment i.e. fax, telephone, copier. Assists in the care and maintenance of department equipment and supplies. Reports any malfunctioning equipment to IT Help Desk or appropriate department.

• Maintains work area and equipment in a neat and orderly manner; organizes work area for efficiency and safety.

• Attends and participates in meeting and/or committees, as required.

• Routinely handles large amounts of sensitive, confidential information and maintains confidentiality.

• Meets hospital-wide standards in the following areas: a. Conforms to hospital standards of performance and conduct, including those pertaining to patient rights, so that the best possible customer service and patient care can be provided. b. Utilizes hospital's Values as the basis for decision-making and to facilitate the division's hospital mission. c. Follows established hospital infection control and safety procedures

• Analyses problems in order to determine appropriate course of action and offers constructive suggestions to improve efficiency in office operations.

• Develops competencies as related to position.

• Performs other administrative tasks as needed.

• Complies with all requirements of RESPECT

JOB REQUIREMENTS

EDUCATION:

High School diploma required. Associates degree or Bachelor's preferred.

EXPERIENCE:

All incumbents must have medical office experience and/or referral authorization experience as follows:

• HS/GED plus 5 + years or

• Associates plus 2 - 3 years or

• Bachelors plus 1- 2 years medical office experience and/or referral authorization experience. Service industry experience a plus

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

• Extensive knowledge of a word processing and spreadsheet software applications. MS Office preferred.

• Working knowledge of managed care—overall understanding of HMO, PPO, and capitation; obtaining insurance approvals, billing, and co-payments, and handling patient flow

• Proven experience handling service recovery/customer service and dealing with sensitive issues

• Familiarity with scheduling and rearranging appointments

• Pleasant speaking voice and demeanor

• Neat, professional appearance

• Strong written and verbal communication skills

• Stellar organizational skills.

• Ability to manage multiple tasks and work independently;

• Attention to detail and to work under pressure are also important.

Compensation Range:

This range offers an estimate based on the minimum job qualifications. However, our approach to determining base pay is comprehensive, and a broad range of factors is considered when making an offer. This includes education, experience, skills, and certifications/licensures as they directly relate to position requirements; as well as business/organizational needs, internal equity, and market-competitiveness. In addition, BMCHS offers generous total compensation that includes, but is not limited to, benefits (medical, dental, vision, pharmacy), discretionary annual bonuses and merit increases, Flexible Spending Accounts, 403(b) savings matches, paid time off, career advancement opportunities, and resources to support employee and family well-being. 

NOTE: This range is based on Boston-area data, and is subject to modification based on geographic location.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Disabled/Veterans

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