Rehabilitation Patient Access Specialist-Full-time Days - job 1 of 2

At Northwestern Medicine, every patient interaction makes a difference in cultivating a positive workplace. This patient-first approach is what sets us apart as a leader in the healthcare industry. As an integral part of our team, you'll have the opportunity to join our quest for better healthcare, no matter where you work within the Northwestern Medicine system. At Northwestern Medicine, we pride ourselves on providing competitive benefits: from tuition reimbursement and loan forgiveness to 401(k) matching and lifecycle benefits, we take care of our employees. Ready to join our quest for better?

Rehabilitation Services at Northwestern Medicine is a collaborative, multi-disciplinary team within our growing, nationally recognized health system that provides world-class care at 10 hospitals and more than 200 locations in communities throughout Chicago, the suburbs and northern Illinois. Together with Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, we are pushing boundaries in innovative care delivery, training the next generation of rehabilitation specialists, and pursuing excellence in patient care. 

Rehabilitation Services values building relationships with our patients and their families, understanding the needs of our clinical and non-clinical staff, and providing opportunities for professional development, mentorship, and program development. Our integration with hospitals and clinics across Northwestern Medicine make it possible for us to serve more patients, closer to where they live and work. While each of our locations has a unique story, Rehabilitation Services at Northwestern Medicine is unified under one mission – Patients First.

The Rehabilitation Patient Access Specialist reflects the mission, vision, and values of NM, adheres to the organization’s Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with all relevant policies, procedures, guidelines and all other regulatory and accreditation standards.

Performs department-based reception and clerical functions.

Responsibilities:

• May act as a receptionist for the department, greeting staff and customers in a polite manner, and referring to appropriate staff when needed.
• Answers department telephone calls in a polite manner, communicating messages appropriately and clearly to all staff members.
• Is customer oriented and able to communicate and work effectively with all levels of staff and department customers. 
• Successfully takes on special projects as needed.
• Utilizes critical thinking skills to successfully demonstrate the ability to prioritize and complete work quickly as the needs of the department change.
• Coordinates all clerical work for the department with senior/clinical coordinator/manager/director as appropriate.
• May coordinate with Senior/Clinical Coordinator/Manager/Director to process department invoices/purchase requests.
• Maintains appropriate levels of all supplies for the department. 
• Independently manages the DAR (Department Appointment Report) in EPIC for the respective department.
• Schedules, confirms, and reschedules patients for visits at Rehabilitation Services and its satellite locations.
• Follows the necessary requirements of the department, which can include completion of questionnaires and coordination with other departments.
• Appropriately schedules new evaluations and follow up appointments, cancellations, rescheduling and wait list.
• Appropriately and efficiently "arrives" patients for process workflow.
• Completes end of day processing per EPIC policy. 
• Follows Rehabilitation Services and/or CDH Policy and Procedure/Guidelines for scheduling new patient evaluations.
• Accurately identifies patient MRN to avoid duplication of records in system.
• Obtains and updates patient demographic, insurance and billing information.
• May independently access the Unscheduled Orders Work Queues on a daily basis (during normal business hours) and maintains departmental expectations (all new orders will receive initial phone call within 24 -48 hours).
• May independently monitor and maintain other assigned Rehabilitation Work Queues based upon registration. 
• Follows Rehabilitation Services Guidelines and policies in regard to subsequent patient scheduling in order to maximize therapist productivity and time. (Effective use of wait list, scheduling of new evaluations, independently adding paperwork time in instances where a therapist is required to see a high number of new evaluations or has a backlog of documentation).
• May collect cash and credit card payments and ensures all payment collection and documentation meets current standards.
• Follows the necessary requirements for daily reconciliation and balancing.
• May independently manage therapist's monthly schedules/templates.
• Schedules meetings and huddles as requested by therapist or Senior staff member.
• Works with Senior to block scheduled PTO time and/or sick time appropriately.
• May independently make "new evaluation confirmation phone calls" to all new evaluations the day before the scheduled appointment and create "shadow charts" administering all associated paperwork for these patients. 
• Completes order entry and evaluating orders.
• Determines when it is appropriate to consult with technician for interpretative purposes.
• Assists patients to obtain orders not in the EPIC system. 
• Understanding of scanning: possesses thorough understanding of the scanning process. This understanding includes the user's ability to recognize registration and clinical documents and perform accurate indexing within the electronic record. 
• Independently manages Rehabilitation Work Queue 3111 to monitor and maintain "visits not authorized" to ensure proper authorization is received in a timely manner.
• May assist in clinic set up/clean up including hot pack/cold pack machine cleaning and temp logs, eye wash log.
• Assists Manager/Senior Staff in monitoring charges via accessible Work Queues in EPIC. Independently makes corrections to pending Work Queue items with or without guidance from supervisor.
• Manages faxing documentation to insurance companies and/or physician offices for authorization and signatures for Plan of Care as appropriate.
• Works with Coding, Patient Accounts and Financial Clearance Center to ensure all patient accounts are registered accurately for timely billing and management of patient accounts.

Required:

• Two years’ experience in front office with computer experience
• High School graduate
• Successful completion of EPIC training for scheduling and registration

Northwestern Medicine is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of age, sex, race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation or any other protected status.

If we offer you a job, we will perform a background check that includes a review of any criminal convictions. A conviction does not disqualify you from employment at Northwestern Medicine. We consider this on a case-by-case basis and follow all state and federal guidelines.

Benefits

We offer a wide range of benefits that provide employees with tools and resources to improve their physical, emotional, and financial well-being while providing protection for unexpected life events. Please visit our Benefits section to learn more.