Referral Specialist I

Physician Referral Service Position

As a patient-focused organization, University of Utah Health exists to enhance the health and well-being of people through patient care, research and education. Success in this mission requires a culture of collaboration, excellence, leadership, and respect. University of Utah Health seeks staff that are committed to the values of compassion, collaboration, innovation, responsibility, integrity, quality and trust that are integral to our mission. EO/AA

This position carries out the day-to-day activities of a physician referral service, including referring incoming calls to appropriate physicians or clinics, notifying physicians when their patient has been admitted to the hospital and monitoring and updating multiple databases. This position is not responsible for providing patient care.

Corporate Overview: The University of Utah is a Level 1 Trauma Center and is nationally ranked and recognized for our academic research, quality standards and overall patient experience. Our five hospitals and eleven clinics provide excellence in our comprehensive services, medical advancement, and overall patient outcomes.

Responsibilities

Essential Functions

• Facilitates access for patients, physicians, employees and Outreach and Network Development to the system.
• Answers inbound calls and refers callers to a specific physician or clinic based on the caller's stated medical issue(s).
• Logs inbound calls and prepares quarterly reports that summarize referrals to specific physicians and clinics.
• Generates daily reports that identify patients who were admitted the prior day.
• Notifies the patient's physician (either internal or external to the organization) that their patient was admitted to the system and provides or helps gain access to pertinent medical information.
• Takes ownership of solving problems or issues of importance to patients, physicians and support staff.
• Works to identify and notify patient physicians when little information is provided about the specific physician.
• Maintains and updates several databases with accurate physician contact and demographic information, such as specialty areas, credentials, gender and language(s) spoken in order to expedite referral services.
• Assists other departments with collecting and entering doctor satisfaction surveys.
• Based on call, initiates the process of receiving the patient into the system by creating a referral shell to send to the appropriate outpatient clinic for request for medical care.

Knowledge / Skills / Abilities

• Demonstrated strong customer service skills and excellent personal interaction, with the ability to constructively interact with physicians, clinic managers, and support staff.
• Ability to work with minimal supervision, adaptability and high tolerance for ambiguous work situations.
• Ability to use computerized medical records to facilitate patient and physician access to the system.
• Ability to work in a cooperative manner with other team members.
• Demonstrated ability to function calmly and competently in high stress situations.
• Ability to understand and facilitate the referral process of the institution. This includes an in-depth knowledge of specialty care services provided and physicians that support those service areas.
• Demonstrated potential ability to perform the essential functions of the job as outlined in the position description.
• Knowledge of medical terminology and experience in a healthcare environment preferred.

Qualifications

Required

• Two (2) years of experience in health care, or the equivalency.
• Experience scheduling patient appointments and navigating patient electronic medical records.

Qualifications (Preferred)

Preferred

• Extensive knowledge of medical terminology and experience in a healthcare environment.
• Bilingual.
• Working experience in an outpatient clinic and/or in large complex medical center(s).
• Experience in a health care financial setting.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

Employee must be able to meet the following requirements with or without an accommodation.

• This is a sedentary position that may exert up to 10 pounds and may lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects. This position involves sitting most of the time and is not exposed to adverse environmental conditions.

Physical Requirements

Listening, Speaking