Northwestern Memorial Healthcare is seeking a Patient Access Specialist to embody our mission and vision by providing exceptional customer service and establishing a positive first impression for patients. You will play a critical role in scheduling patients, verifying insurance, collecting demographic information, and ensuring the integrity of patient data.

What You'll Do

Consistently practice a Patients First philosophy and maintain high customer service standards.
Maintain patient confidentiality per HIPAA regulations.
Correctly identify and collect patient demographic information.
Interact with various hospital departments and physician offices to schedule and direct patients.
Perform medical necessity checks and communicate options to patients if appointments fail.
Inform patients of any issues with securing the financial account for their encounter.
Complete out-of-pocket estimations as requested.
Participate in Quality Assurance reviews to ensure data integrity.
Use effective service recovery skills to solve problems.
Communicate information regarding physician referrals, insurance referrals, and consultations.
Collect authorization numbers in appropriate systems.
Resolve operational issues and foster professional communication across units.
Utilize multiple online order retrieval systems to verify or print patient orders.
Verify insurance eligibility and benefit levels using online tools or over the phone.
Complete accurate handoff instructions and notes in Epic.
Run real time eligibility (RTE) on all patients to verify insurance.
Send quality Epic Messages and Telephone encounters.
Proactively prevent issues by double-checking test types, preps, times, and locations.
Understand and collect the minimum data set required for a complete registration.
Understand departmental and individual quality metrics.
Proactively analyze account activity, identify problems, and initiate resolutions.
Evaluate procedures and suggest improvements to enhance service and efficiency.
Participate in departmental quality improvement activities.
Monitor registration, scheduling, and insurance verification to ensure quality standards.
Act as a training resource for new staff and a resource for coworkers.
Cross-train between various departments to ensure coverage.

What We're Looking For

High School diploma or equivalent.
2-3 years of customer service or medical office experience.
Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills.
Proficiency in computer data-entry/typing.
Ability to read, write, and communicate effectively in English.
Basic Computer Skills.
Ability to type 40 wpm.
Ability to multi-task.
Customer service orientation.
Excellent organizational, time management, analytical, and problem-solving skills.

Nice to Have

Additional education.
Additional language skills.
Healthcare finance and/or healthcare insurance experience.
Knowledge and experience in a healthcare setting, especially patient scheduling and/or registration.

Technical Stack

Epic
Online order retrieval systems
Online insurance verification tools (NDAS, ASF)

Team & Environment

You will report to a Team Lead or Operations Coordinator for extraordinary issues, and ultimately to a Manager. Cross-training between departments is part of the role to ensure team coverage.

Benefits & Compensation

Compensation: $18.40-$27.59 per hour
Tuition reimbursement
Loan forgiveness
401(k) matching
Lifecycle benefits
A wide range of benefits for physical, emotional, and financial well-being

Work Mode

This is an onsite position located on the Northwestern Medicine Campus in Cook County, IL.

Northwestern Medicine is an 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.