Senior Scheduler

At Houston Methodist, the Senior Scheduler position is responsible for providing consumers access to care and treatment through appointment-based availability of healthcare services at a designated facility. This position schedules patients for complex services (e.g., surgery, special procedures) on a routine basis and ensures quality patient surgical and/or ancillary services scheduling by acting as a liaison between patient, facility, and providers to ensure exams, tests, and procedures are scheduled timely, accurately, and appropriately. Additional responsibilities include serving as a resource and trainer for less experienced and new staff. The Senior Scheduler may also pre-register patients timely in the electronic health record (EHR) so pre-certification, authorization, and verification of insurance benefits can be obtained in a timely manner.

FLSA STATUS
Non-exempt

QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

• High School diploma or equivalent education (examples include: GED, verification of homeschool equivalency, partial or full completion of post-secondary education, etc.)

EXPERIENCE

• Four years of experience in a medical setting or call center environment to include two years of medical scheduling experience

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Demonstrates the skills and competencies necessary to safely perform the assigned job, determined through on-going skills, competency assessments, and performance evaluations
• Sufficient proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing the English language necessary to perform the essential functions of this job, especially with regard to activities impacting patient or employee safety or security
• Ability to effectively communicate with patients, physicians, family members and co-workers in a manner consistent with a customer service focus and application of positive language principles
• Ability to multi-task and flexibility to meet the needs of patients, physicians, and department
• Knowledge of mid-level registration/access functions and insurance procedures, including familiarity with insurance network parameters
• Ability to problem solve
• Mid-level understanding of medical terminology and diagnosis/procedural codes
• Ability to remain calm in stressful situations with patience and understanding
• Excellent customer service and professional communication skills
• Proficient computer skills and ability to learn and navigate multiple software programs
• Ability to handle detail work accurately and rapidly
• Strong training, leadership, and mentoring skills

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

PEOPLE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Promotes a positive work environment and contributes to a dynamic team focused work unit that actively helps one another to achieve optimal departmental and organizational results.
• Serves as a liaison between patient, facility, and physicians to ensure exams, tests, and procedures are scheduled timely, accurately, and appropriately. Communicates special requests and add-ons with appropriate department team as needed.
• Communicates with departments throughout the facility when barriers to the current schedule present.
• Serves as a resource and trainer for less experienced and new staff; orients, guides and mentors team members to help build confidence and competency in skills, knowledge and abilities.

SERVICE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Schedules patients for complex services (e.g., surgery, special procedures) on a routine basis accurately on the appropriate schedule. Synchronizes the appointment calendars in order to effectively schedule patients according to physician/department availability and urgency of patient service requirements as needed. May also provide pre-registration services.
• Obtains valid and compliant orders and schedules patients based on the physician order and according to department criteria. Enters all diagnostic services, surgical services and special procedures on the schedule as applicable.
• Confirms patients’ appointments, instructs on location and directions to facility/department, relays pre-appointment preparations, and arranges for patients to have interpreter, mobility, or other assistance as needed for the visit.
• Establishes/updates the hospital account record to include detailed patient demographic and insurance information in EHR system, selecting insurance plans and payers, and medical necessity determination.
• Responds promptly to requests by staff, patients, and physicians; reschedules and/or cancels appointments as needed. Assists with resolving EHR work queues that support scheduling. Generates reports and assists with department correspondence as directed.

QUALITY/SAFETY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Communicates to resolve patient access and quality service matters. Keeps open channels of communication with physician, patient, and service areas regarding action taken and outcome. Resolves complex problems and issues.
• Schedules patient appointments utilizing standard operating procedures and enters data into EHR system with a high level of thoroughness, accuracy and timeliness.
• Meets scheduling goals set by the department (e.g., abandonment rate, productivity/ activities per hour, etc.).

FINANCE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Gathers demographic and insurance information so that the patient’s insurance may be verified, authorization obtained, and patient’s portion determined prior to the patient’s date of service.
• Organizes time effectively, minimizing incidental overtime, and sets priorities. Utilizes time between heavy workloads efficiently and helps other team members.

GROWTH/INNOVATION ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Seeks opportunities to expand learning beyond baseline competencies with a focus on continual development. Generates and communicates new ideas and suggestions that will improve quality or service.

SUPPLEMENTAL REQUIREMENTS
WORK ATTIRE

• Uniform: Yes
• Scrubs: No
• Business professional: Yes
• Other (department approved): Yes

ON-CALL*
*Note that employees may be required to be on-call during emergencies (ie. Disaster, Severe Weather Events, etc) regardless of selection below.

• On Call* No

TRAVEL**
**Travel specifications may vary by department**

• May require travel within the Houston Metropolitan area No
• May require travel outside Houston Metropolitan area No

QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

• High School diploma or equivalent education (examples include: GED, verification of homeschool equivalency, partial or full completion of post-secondary education, etc.)

EXPERIENCE

• Four years of experience in a medical setting or call center environment to include two years of medical scheduling experience