Patient Access Associate

The Patient Access Associate (PAA) is a hospital-based, non-clinical healthcare professional who serves as the first point of contact for patients. In this pivotal role, the PAR ensures a positive patient experience during the registration and admission processes by accurately collecting essential demographic and financial information. 1. Patient Identification and Documentation: · Greet patients and visitors courteously and professionally. · Accurately identify patients in the Master Patient Index to reduce erroneous duplicate medical records, maintaining a 98% accuracy rate in medical record creation. · Update demographics per legal identification. · Verify the information on armbands before placing them on patients. · Explain all required documents verbally, obtain signatures appropriately, and document any inability to obtain signatures correctly, including immediate scanning into EMR, per process. · Process all ‘unable to sign’ consents per process, including following legal algorithms to research and communicate with patient contacts to obtain appropriate surrogate; escalate to next steps (Care Management) when unable to find surrogate. 2. Patient Registration and Insurance Verification: · Conduct face-to-face interviews to accurately obtain and process patient demographic and financial information, maintaining a minimum accuracy rate of 97% for error-free registrations. · Process and act on Real-Time Eligibility (RTE) messages, including adding, terminating, and correcting coverages. · Identify all true self-pay patients accurately and forward to Medicaid eligibility and application staff, ensuring only true self-pay patients are screened. · Scan all required documents into patient records and place HAR notes on accounts when necessary. · Identify and resolve insurance verification issues, informing patients of available options, including financial assistance. 3. Regulatory Compliance and Customer Service: · Ensure all patients receive necessary regulatory information and enter appropriate documentation in the EMR (e.g., HIPAA, Patient Rights Brochure, IMM, NOOS, ABN, etc.). · Explain hospital policies, procedures, and financial responsibilities to patients and their families, providing excellent customer service. 4. Appointment Scheduling: · Schedule appointments, surgeries, and other medical procedures according to patient and provider preferences. · Verify insurance coverage and obtain pre-authorizations as needed. 5. Financial Communication: · Communicate financial responsibilities to patients and collect funds in accordance with established protocols. · Make referrals to Charity Care and Medical Assistance when needed. 6. Workflow Management: · Answer and direct incoming and external calls promptly. · Independently prioritize work, including work queue management, patient registrations, insurance verification, and other assigned tasks to meet performance and productivity standards within department deadlines. · Identify and correct errors in accounts using appropriate tools (e.g., NextBar, OneSource). 7. Meeting and Training Participation: · Attend departmental staff meetings or watch videos when absent. · Attend all required in-person training/in-services and complete all educational assignments within the required timeframe. · Read and respond to emails during each shift. 8. Adherence to Policies: · Adhere to hospital policies and procedures, including timely arrival, minimal absences, appropriate attire, readiness for work, and minimal personal electronic usage. · Adhere to the RISE values. Contribute to a positive work environment that promotes teamwork, collaboration, professionalism, and continuous improvement. 9. Additional Responsibilities: · Perform other duties as assigned by the Director, Manager, or Supervisor. Experience/Education/Certification Requirements: High school diploma or equivalent. 0–11 months of direct Patient Access or healthcare registration experience. Strong verbal and written communi…