Patient Access Team Lead (Full Time)

Overview

The Patient Access Team Lead NE is responsible for supervising patient access operations, including registration, scheduling, and insurance verification, ensuring efficient workflows and compliance with policies. The role provides leadership and training to staff, resolves complex billing and patient concerns, and implements quality assurance initiatives to enhance patient satisfaction. The role manages departmental schedules, supports financial counselling, and collaborates with healthcare providers to ensure seamless patient experiences and maximize operational efficiency.

Why UnityPoint Health?

At UnityPoint Health, you matter. We’re proud to be recognized as a Top 150 Place to Work in Healthcare by Becker's Healthcare several years in a row for our commitment to our team members.

Our competitive Total Rewards program offers benefits options that align with your needs and priorities, no matter what life stage you’re in. Here are just a few:

• Expect paid time off, parental leave, 401K matching and an employee recognition program.
• Dental and health insurance, paid holidays, short and long-term disability and more. We even offer pet insurance for your four-legged family members.
• Early access to earned wages with Daily Pay, tuition reimbursement to help further your career and adoption assistance to help you grow your family.

With a collective goal to champion a culture of belonging where everyone feels valued and respected, we honor the ways people are unique and embrace what brings us together.

And, we believe equipping you with support and development opportunities is a vital part of delivering an exceptional employment experience.

Find a fulfilling career and make a difference with UnityPoint Health.

Responsibilities

• Provides exceptional customer service, greeting patients and visitors with professionalism, addressing concerns and inquiries to enhance the patient experience.
• Interviews patients and family members to obtain accurate demographic and financial data during the registration process, ensuring a smooth patient experience.
• Oversees patient flow processes across all areas, ensuring efficient transitions between departments and facilitating patient movement to nursing units.
• Ensures compliance with hospital policies and regulatory requirements, including Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) guidelines to maintain patient confidentiality and operational efficiency.
• Manages the verification of insurance coverage, facilitates communication of benefit details between patients and healthcare providers, and assesses financial liability, collaborating with patients to establish payment plans or secure alternative funding solutions.
• Ensures accurate registration and verification of patient information in the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system, including precertification requirements, and collaborates with the Central Billing Office to correct patient accounts.
• Receives and records payments on patient accounts to maintain financial accuracy and supports managing department supplies, ensuring timely orders and organized storage for efficient operations.
• Resolves complex billing discrepancies, ensuring precise charge allocation, reducing patient denials, and contributing to the optimization of the revenue cycle for maximum reimbursement and efficient billing operations.
• Implements quality assurance initiatives, conducting audits and generating reports to analyse trends, drive process improvements, and ensure exceptional patient satisfaction and operational performance.
• Provides leadership, communication, and planning to oversee Patient Access staff, ensuring quality work, compliance, and effective collaboration across departments.
• Develops and maintains department policies and procedures, coordinates schedules, and monitors productivity to ensure adequate coverage and efficiency.
• Supports the Epic Patient Access system, training new staff on registration, scheduling, and other related tasks to ensure smooth workflow.
• Assists with the hiring, screening, and orientation of new staff, including providing competency evaluations and ongoing training to support staff development.
• Leads departmental meetings, including preparing agendas, taking minutes, and distributing key information to staff to ensure alignment with organizational goals.
• Keeps up to date with industry changes, such as insurance policies, pre-certification requirements, and government regulations, ensuring that all procedures align with current best practices.

Qualifications

Education

• High School Diploma or equivalent required.
• Associate’s degree in Business, Finance, Health Information Management, or related field preferred.

Experience

• Two (2) years of customer service OR healthcare related experience required.

License(s)/Certification(s)

• None.