Patient Scheduling Specialist, Obstetrics and Gynecology

Overview

Position Title: Patient Scheduling Senior Specialist, Obstetrics and Gynecology Days - Full Time

Department: Bell Hospital

Position Summary / Career Interest: The Patient Scheduling Senior Specialist is responsible for providing daily support to the scheduling team, utilizing their expert knowledge of scheduling workflows to train, coach, and be a resource to peers. The Patient Scheduling Lead will complete competency assessments for new hires as well as outline any additional training needed. This lead role monitors volume throughout the day and assigns staff accordingly to various scheduling duties. They assist the Supervisor with measuring staff productivity and adherence to quality assurance measures. This role requires comprehensive knowledge of all job functions and provides coaching to staff as needed. The Patient Scheduling Senior Specialist supports the staffing plan, functioning as a scheduling associate/specialist as needed while modeling the highest level of customer service. This role also covers leadership responsibilities in the absence of the Supervisor.

Responsibilities

• Maintains expert knowledge and understanding of scheduling guidelines, patient registration, pre-certification requirements and basic levels of health insurance and billing procedures.
• Maintains expert knowledge of order entry and scanning capabilities as needed.
• Role models the health system values in daily interactions and inspires others to follow those values.
• Responsible for accurate scheduling/re-scheduling/cancellations of patient visits, including clinic appointments (in person and telehealth), treatments such as chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy, surgeries, procedures and/or ancillary services using extensive knowledge of appointment types, locations, providers and specialties.
• Act as an escalation point for the most complex scheduling; diligently manages scheduling workload from the assigned Appointment Request Workqueue (WQ), filters and prioritizes appointment requests per specialty standards while maintaining communication with providers and the clinical team to verify changes and ensure continuity of care.
• Verifies referring physician orders against scheduled appointments for accuracy.
• Coordinates scheduling of multiple/cyclical items (e.g., laboratory tests, radiologic imaging, and procedures) at correct intervals to clinic and treatment appointments.
• Builds and supports trusting relationships with providers and clinical teams to provide holistic and patient-centered scheduling services, advocating for patients’ needs (transportation, financial, logistical) and coordinating care across multiple campuses.
• Communicates with Financial Advisor when the patient has concerns/questions about financial responsibility for appointments/treatments/procedures scheduled.
• Directs patients to call insurance provider for copay or benefits information or transfers callers to Financial Advisor for specific payment inquiries, including self-pay plans.
• Responsible for patient registration (prior to visit and/or upon arrival); including entering/updating demographics, insurance verification, document scanning, and processing of referrals.
• Responsible for checkout of patients from clinic visits, providing options for receipt of after-visit summary and support for EMR patient portal (EPIC MyChart) signup.
• Manages department Scheduling Inbasket and voicemails. Engages with patients in a timely manner; provides complete and accurate information regarding prep and other exam notes.
• Provides courteous and timely response to scheduling requests via electronic patient communications, including MyChart messages and Artera text messaging platform.
• Schedules referral appointments for external offices, sends necessary referral and medical records to referred physician offices using specialty software modules such as Beacon, etc.
• Demonstrates professional communication with patients and all team members. Responds to employee and customer complaints in a professional and positive manner at the request or absence of the supervisor.
• Attends and participates in staff training or educational activities related to the job role. Scheduling lead may train lower level schedulers and act as mentor for new team members as needed.
• Monitors scheduling volume (appointment request workqueues, call volume), assigns staff based on fluctuations, and ensures the department meets service level goals.
• Acts as an operational resource and supports daily staffing plan needs. Audits team member productivity to ensure consistency of service and reviews data with staff.
• Provides ongoing training to team members on clinic-specific workflows using approved materials and hands-on exercises. Provides performance feedback to Supervisor and Manager, and may be involved in retraining efforts.
• Acknowledged as the Epic Superuser and supports implementation updates/modules; assists the Supervisor with all aspects of the scheduling office and coordinates processing of orders and scheduling of radiological requests from multiple locations and modalities, including scanning documents into network drives and monitoring equipment.
• Must meet the competencies for this role before advancement to the next level scheduling role and be able to perform the professional, clinical and/or technical competencies of the assigned unit or department.

Required Education and Experience

• High School Graduate or GED.
• 3 or more years progressively responsible and directly related work experience in a healthcare setting OR some combination of health care or contact center experience including 18 months in a UKHS patient scheduling position.
• Expert in navigating EPIC EMR to include MyChart messaging system as well as use of additional scheduling modules (e.g., Beacon Scheduling Orders).

Preferred Education and Experience

• College coursework completed toward an Associate's or Bachelor's Degree.

Skills and Knowledge

• Fluent English – ability to read, write, speak, and understand English.
• Basic computer skills including Microsoft Excel, Word, Outlook, and Teams.
• High level of customer service skills focusing on problem resolution.
• Ability to maintain patient confidentiality.

Important information for you to know as you apply: The health system is an equal employment opportunity employer. Qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, ancestry, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally-protected status. See also Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. The health system provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. If you need to request reasonable accommodations for your disability as you navigate the recruitment process, please let our recruiters know by requesting an Accommodation Request form using this link Employment with the health system is contingent upon, among other things, agreeing to the health-system-dispute-resolution-program.pdf and signing the agreement to the DRP. The University of Kansas Health System is an equal opportunity employer. For more information, visit the organization’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion page.