Front Office Medical Assistant

Job Description

Job Description:\n\nFRONT OFFICE MEDICAL ASSISTANT Diagnostic Imaging Center Facility: Madison Imaging CenterDepartment: Front Office/Patient ServicesPosition: Front Office Medical AssistantReports To: Imaging Center Manager/AdministratorEmployment Status: Full-Time FLSA Status: Non-Exempt POSITION SUMMARY The Front Office Medical Assistant serves as a primary point of contact for patients, referring physician offices, imaging technologists, radiologists, and other healthcare professionals at Madison Imaging Center. This position combines the responsibilities of a medical receptionist, scheduler, order-processing coordinator, and front-office medical assistant. The employee is responsible for providing professional patient service, answering and routing telephone calls, scheduling diagnostic imaging examinations, processing physician orders, reviewing documentation for completeness, communicating examination preparation instructions, obtaining necessary patient and insurance information, and coordinating with clinical staff to ensure an efficient patient workflow. The Front Office Medical Assistant supports PET/CT, CT, MRI, and other imaging services provided by the center and must become familiar with the basic scheduling and preparation requirements for each examination. The position requires excellent communication, attention to detail, organization, professionalism, and the ability to manage multiple responsibilities in a busy outpatient diagnostic imaging environment. ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 1. RECEPTION AND PATIENT SERVICES The Front Office Medical Assistant is responsible for maintaining a professional and welcoming front-office environment. Responsibilities include:Greet and check in patients in a courteous and professional manner.Verify patient identity using established patient-identification procedures.Confirm patient demographic and contact information.Obtain and verify required patient registration information.Provide patients with required forms, questionnaires, and facility documents.Review submitted forms for completeness.Notify appropriate staff when patients arrive.Coordinate patient flow between the waiting area and clinical departments.Assist patients with general questions regarding their appointments.Provide facility-approved examination preparation instructions.Assist elderly patients and patients requiring additional assistance.Maintain a professional, organized, and confidential front-office environment.Protect patient privacy when communicating at the reception desk, over the telephone, or electronically.Check patients out following completion of their appointments when required.Assist with scheduling follow-up appointments when appropriate. 2. TELEPHONE RESPONSIBILITIES The Front Office Medical Assistant is responsible for professional and timely management of incoming and outgoing telephone communications. Duties include:Answer incoming telephone calls promptly and professionally, typically within 5 rings.Identify the caller and determine the purpose of the call.Assist patients with scheduling, appointment confirmation, directions, preparation questions, and other appropriate non-clinical inquiries.Route clinical questions to the appropriate technologist, physician, radiologist, manager, or other qualified clinical staff.Respond to calls from referring physician offices.Document telephone messages accurately.Route messages to the appropriate staff member.Return telephone calls when assigned.Contact patients regarding upcoming appointments, scheduling changes, missing information, or preparation requirements.Contact referring physician offices regarding incomplete or unclear orders.Maintain professionalism and confidentiality during all telephone communications. The Front Office Medical Assistant shall not provide independent medical advice, interpret imaging results, or answer clinical questions outside the employee's authorized scope. 3. PATIENT SCHEDULING Scheduling is a major responsibility of this position. The Front Office Medical Assistant will schedule examinations according to established facility scheduling protocols. Responsibilities include:Schedule PET/CT, CT, MRI, and other examinations offered by the imaging center.Verify the examination requested on the physician's order.Select the appropriate examination in the scheduling system according to established protocols.Verify the diagnosis or indication provided on the order.Obtain required patient information before scheduling.Determine whether required documentation has been received.Ask facility-approved screening questions appropriate to the examination.Identify scheduling situations requiring review by a technologist or manager.Coordinate examination dates and times with patients.Provide patients with arrival times and estimated appointment requirements.Provide facility-approved preparation instructions.Schedule examinations requiring fasting, contrast, laboratory testing, medication restrictions, or other special preparation according to established protocols.Document relevant scheduling information in the patient's record.Confirm appointments when required.Reschedule or cancel appointments as necessary.Document cancellations and no-shows according to facility policy.Maintain efficient utilization of imaging appointment slots.Notify the manager or appropriate technologist of scheduling conflicts or unusual circumstances. 4. PROCESSING IMAGING ORDERS Accurate processing of physician orders is a critical responsibility of this position. The Front Office Medical Assistant will:Receive imaging orders through fax, electronic transmission, patient delivery, physician offices, or other approved methods.Review orders for completeness.Verify the patient's full name and identifying information.Verify the requested imaging examination.Verify the diagnosis, signs/symptoms, or medical indication when required.Verify referring physician information.Confirm that the order has been appropriately signed or authenticated when required.Enter orders accurately into the facility's scheduling/RIS/EMR system, RamSoft.Scan or upload orders into the appropriate patient record.Associate orders with the correct scheduled examination.Identify duplicate or conflicting orders.Identify missing information.Contact referring physician offices to obtain missing documentation.Route questionable or unclear orders to the appropriate technologist, manager, radiologist, or other qualified personnel for clarification.Track outstanding orders when necessary.Maintain an organized process for pending and completed orders. The Front Office Medical Assistant shall not independently change a physician's order, diagnosis, examination type, or imaging protocol. 5. REFERRING PHYSICIAN OFFICE COMMUNICATION The Front Office Medical Assistant serves as an important liaison between Madison Imaging Center and referring physician offices. Responsibilities include:Communicate professionally with physician offices.Receive and process imaging orders.Request corrected or updated orders when necessary.Request clinical documentation needed for scheduling or authorization.Obtain prior imaging reports when required.Request laboratory results when required by imaging center protocols.Provide scheduling availability to referring offices.Coordinate urgent scheduling requests with the appropriate manager or technologist.Notify referring offices when required information is missing.Assist physician offices with questions regarding scheduling procedures.Communicate examination preparation requirements to referring offices when appropriate.Document significant communications in the patient's record. 6. INSURANCE AND AUTHORIZATION SUPPORT Depending upon facility workflow, responsibilities may include:Obtain current insurance information.Verify that insurance cards are available and properly documented.Enter insurance information accurately into the patient record.Verify insurance eligibility when assigned.Determine whether prior authorization information has been received.Obtain authorization numbers and expiration dates when provided.Verify that the authorized examination corresponds with the scheduled examination.Identify discrepancies between the physician order, authorization, and scheduled examination.Communicate authorization issues to the appropriate staff member or referring physician office.Assist with obtaining supporting clinical documentation when required for authorization.Document authorization information accurately.Escalate unresolved insurance or authorization issues to management. The employee shall not independently make determinations regarding medical necessity or modify physician orders to obtain insurance approval. 7. PATIENT PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS The Front Office Medical Assistant must become familiar with the facility-approved preparation requirements for imaging examinations. Responsibilities may include providing approved instructions regarding:Appointment arrival time.Fasting requirements.Hydration instructions.Clothing and jewelry requirements.Medication instructions contained in facility-approved protocols.Diabetic patient preparation instructions.PET/CT preparation requirements.CT contrast preparation.MRI screening requirements.Laboratory requirements when applicable.Transportation requirements when applicable.Other examination-specific preparation requirements. The employee must use facility-approved preparation instructions and refer clinical questions to qualified clinical personnel. The Front Office Medical Assistant must not independently provide medical advice or instruct patients to discontinue medications unless specifically following an approved facility protocol. 8. PET/CT SCHEDULING SUPPORT For PET/CT patients, duties may include:Verify the type of PET examination ordered.Review the order for appropriate diagnosis information.Complete facility-approved PET scheduling questionnaires.Provide approved fasting and preparation instructions.Obtain information regarding diabetes when required for scheduling.Obtain patient height and weight when required.Verify whether the patient is receiving chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, or other treatment when required by facility scheduling protocols.Identify special scheduling circumstances and refer them to the Nuclear Medicine/PET Technologist.Coordinate radiopharmaceutical-dependent appointment times.Communicate scheduling changes promptly because of the time-sensitive nature of radiopharmaceutical doses. 9. CT SCHEDULING SUPPORT For CT examinations, duties may include:Verify the anatomical region and examination ordered.Determine whether the order requests an examination with or without contrast.Provide facility-approved preparation instructions.Determine whether laboratory results may be required according to facility protocol.Identify reported contrast allergies or previous reactions and refer the patient to appropriate clinical staff.Coordinate examinations requiring oral contrast.Route clinical questions regarding IV contrast to the CT Technologist or appropriate licensed personnel. 10. MRI SCHEDULING SUPPORT For MRI examinations, duties may include:Verify the anatomical region ordered.Verify whether the examination is ordered with contrast, without contrast, or with and without contrast.Complete preliminary facility-approved MRI scheduling questions.Identify patients reporting implanted devices, metal fragments, pacemakers, neurostimulators, pumps, surgical implants, or other potential MRI safety concerns.Refer all MRI safety questions to the MRI Technologist.Provide facility-approved preparation and arrival instructions.Coordinate examinations requiring additional implant documentation or clearance. The Front Office Medical Assistant does not independently clear patients or implants for MRI safety. 11. MEDICAL RECORDS AND DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT Responsibilities include:Scan and upload physician orders.Scan insurance cards and identification when required.Upload laboratory reports and clinical documentation.Maintain accurate electronic patient records.Request outside medical records when necessary.Assist with obtaining prior imaging studies or reports.Route reports and documentation according to established procedures.Ensure documents are entered into the correct patient's record.Correct documentation errors according to facility policy.Maintain confidentiality of all patient information. 12. DAILY FRONT-OFFICE OPERATIONS The Front Office Medical Assistant may also be responsible for:Preparing the front office for daily operations.Reviewing the daily patient schedule.Identifying incomplete orders or missing documentation before appointments.Reviewing upcoming appointments for scheduling issues.Confirming that required authorizations are available when applicable.Monitoring incoming fax and electronic order queues.Processing new orders throughout the day.Monitoring voicemail and returning or routing calls.Communicating delays or scheduling changes to patients.Coordinating with technologists regarding patient readiness and workflow.Maintaining an organized reception and work area.Assisting with administrative projects assigned by management.Providing coverage for other front-office staff when necessary. 13. PATIENT CONFIDENTIALITY AND HIPAA The Front Office Medical Assistant must:Maintain strict confidentiality of Protected Health Information (PHI).Follow HIPAA requirements and facility privacy policies.Verify identity before releasing protected information.Avoid discussing patient information where unauthorized individuals may overhear.Secure computer workstations when unattended.Protect printed patient information from unauthorized access.Properly dispose of confidential documents.Immediately report suspected privacy or security incidents to management. 14. CUSTOMER SERVICE STANDARDS The Front Office Medical Assistant is expected to provide a high level of customer service. The employee must:Treat patients with courtesy, dignity, and respect.Communicate clearly and professionally.Demonstrate patience when assisting elderly, anxious, confused, or medically complex patients.Remain professional during difficult interactions.Attempt to resolve routine patient concerns.Escalate complaints or significant concerns to management.Maintain a calm and organized demeanor during periods of high call volume or patient volume.Support a positive patient experience from scheduling through completion of the appointment. 15. TEAMWORK AND COMMUNICATION The Front Office Medical Assistant works closely with:Imaging Center Manager/Administrator.PET/Nuclear Medicine Technologists.CT Technologists.MRI Technologists.Radiologists.Referring physicians and their staff.Authorization and billing personnel.Other front-office and administrative staff. The employee is expected to communicate effectively between departments and promptly escalate issues that could affect patient safety, scheduling, aut