Medical Assistant Triage

POSITION TITLE: Triage Medical Assistant

REPORTING RELATIONSHIP: Nurse Manager

STATUS : Non-exempt

SUMMARY: This position is responsible for providing triage (sorting/prioritizing patients) service to ensure prompt identification of patients with high-risk conditions, provide health education, and carries out such other Medical Assistant duties as SHHC may need. This includes traveling to any SHHC location for in-office coverage as needed.

The Triage Medical Assistant is a key member of the care team working to provide quality comprehensive services to patients and will work collaboratively with staff to provide team-based coordinated care. The Triage Medical Assistant will demonstrate the values consistent with Squirrel Hill Health Center’s mission and will work with the SHHC team to make the Center a Medical Home for patients of all backgrounds.

Essential Job Functions:

1. Communicates with patients on the telephone and patient portal and then directs them to emergency rooms (ERs), urgent care centers, or to see SHHC providers during office hours.
2. Performs screening of the patient situation to estimate severity of illness and/or injury including, but not limited to, learning about chief complaint and, as possible, mental status information.
3. Determines urgency of seeing the patient based on brief screening and on familiarity with a patient’s condition and history. 
4. Uses computerized medical information database including algorithms that closely imitate physician logic and thought patterns, as guide. 
5. Sends patients with high-risk chief complaints such as chest pain, abdominal pain, or severe headaches to ER immediately. 
6. Provides appropriate education, results and home health advice to patients.
7. Ensures accurate notes of all communications are recorded in the patients’ record via the Electronic Health Record.
8. Arranges appointments for patients who do not need to go to ER but need to see a physician. Consults with providers and nurses as needed.
9. Completes annual required training and procedural signoffs at the direction of the Office Manager.
10. Promptly answers incoming calls from physician’s offices, hospitals, emergency rooms, nursing homes and other entities and promptly gathers information ensuring direct notification of clinician and/or appropriate member of the Care Team.
11. Coordinates prescription refills by receiving information from faxes, the patient prescription line, and patient portal, obtaining authorization from the appropriate clinician and ensuring completion with appropriate documentation in the EHR.
12. At the direction of the clinicians; follows SHHC procedures for ordering and documenting vaccines and lab services for patient appointments in the EHR.
13. Receives and directs lab results to appropriate clinician and/or Care Team Member.
14. Process and resolve inquiries and complaints related to patient care services in coordination with the Medical Assistant Manager and/or Director of Clinical Operations.
15. Works collaboratively with the SHHC Care Team to ensure that SHHC provides the highest quality care for all patients.
16. Communicates clearly with SHHC Care Team to ensure smooth patient flow throughout the Center.
17. Maintains confidentiality and is compliant with HIPAA.
18. Adheres to all SHHC policies and procedures.
19. Accurately documents all necessary information in the electronic health record system in a timely fashion.
20. Read and respond to work emails and other correspondence daily.
21. Participates in all staff, clinical, and other periodic meetings as directed by the SHHC Management Team.
22. Foster a spirit of teamwork and instill a sense of company pride in his/her teams.
23. Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

1. Medical Assistant certificate preferred.
2. Minimum three years of experience as Medical Assistant; one to two years of telephone triage experience, preferably in medical practice setting.
3. Excellent interpersonal, communication and organization skills and ability to deal professionally and effectively with SHHC Team members and the public.
4. Ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of clients in person and by telephone or patient portal.
5. Ability to work autonomously and communicate any concerns or needs to the Director of Clinical Operations and other SHHC Team members.
6. Responds to patient, provider, and other SHHC Team member requests in a courteous, respectful manner.
7. Computer skills and ability to work in EHR, TEAMS, Outlook email and other software systems.
8. Medical terminology, ICD-10 and CPT coding knowledge preferred.
9. CPR certified.
10. Second language preferred
11. Must be committed to serving underserved populations.
12. All SSHC clinic recommended immunizations including COVID vaccine required