Senior Secretary

Senior Secretary

The Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine is seeking a Senior Secretary to join the subspecialty practice at the Carmen and John Thain Center for Prenatal Pediatrics (CPP).

Triages, refers and responds to calls as a part of a several member team, for the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Division of MFM. Provides superior customer service and referral information to patients, potential patients, faculty, and clinical offices that call to refer clients to the ObGyn practices; schedules appointments MFM and ultrasound services; and provides general information in response to inquiries about the services provided by the Department. Calls will also include referrals for patients who contact the Department's general line seeking appointments with ObGyn physicians. This position will also be responsible for providing cross-coverage to other sites.

The position is the primary liaison between both internal and external referring providers as well as our patient population, and therefore the candidate must possess excellent telephone and interpersonal communication skills. The ability to have a patient-centered work ethic and to cover a variety of rotating assignments within a single work site is essential for this role. These assignments include handling general calls, scheduling appointments and procedures, data entry to several clinical information systems and accurately processing insurance verifications.

Responsibilities include:

• Working collaboratively with the administrative and clinical staff to ensure the accuracy of frequently asked questions by all clients and to provide updates on the types of inquiries received.
• Answer all telephone calls in a friendly, professional manner and triage them appropriately; schedule patients for the Division of MFM, clinical and ultrasound appointments in EPIC.
• Enter patient data into various EMR systems, follow scheduling guidelines as provided and appropriately escalate any issues to your direct Supervisor.
• In collaboration with the MFM IV auth team, obtain all necessary time of service authorizations, insurance verification information, pre-certifications, including co-pays and deductibles due at the time of service. If these cannot be obtained it is the responsibility of the Medical Secretary to notify the auth team in a timely fashion.
• Maintain an accurate list of clinical contacts for referral of patients with urgent or emergent clinical problems for each physician's office.
• Ensure dissemination of accurate and timely information to and about patients by utilizing all department clinical information systems; escalate any scheduling issues/challenges to supervisor before turning patient away.
• Prepare patient charts for ultrasound and clinical visits; arrive patients (obtain all necessary documentation at check-in, verify demographics and insurance); scan all order forms and insurance card; notify appropriate staff when patient has arrived; collect patient payments; send out schedules for anesthesia, etc..
• Distribute incoming mail and prepare outgoing mail; contact service to obtain messages and notify of schedule; type correspondence and reports as needed; work with auth team to obtain same-day insurance auth; prep billing; call patients for confirmation of appointments.
• Print and send reports and test results as needed; faxing and copying; provide practice cross coverage; reconcile encounter forms and payments; conforms to all applicable HIPAA, billing compliance and safety guidelines; ensure that all small balances and co-pays are collected at check in, and assist patients in payment plans, etc. to address larger balances.
• Greet and assist patients in a friendly and professional manner as needed; follow patient satisfaction guidelines set forth by the Division.
• Perform other related duties and responsibilities as assigned/requested.

Minimum Qualifications include:

• Requires two years of college or completion of secretarial school or equivalent business experience, plus a minimum of one to three years related experience. Bachelor's degree desirable.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, computer literacy and customer service oriented.
• Good communication skills and team spirit.

Preferred Qualifications include:

• OB/GYN experience for a minimum of one-year.

The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology is dedicated to the goal of building a multicultural faculty and staff committed to teaching, working and serving in a diverse community, and strongly encourages applications from candidates of traditionally underrepresented backgrounds.

We are continuously seeking to recruit individuals who will enhance the diversity of our workplace and the effectiveness of our organization.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.