Practice Operations Manager

Job Description

Job Description

Capernum Physical Therapy | Englewood, NJ | Full-Time, On-Site

Run the Place. Actually Run It.

Most "office manager" jobs are a polite way of saying "sit at the front desk and answer the phone." This is not that job.

Capernum Physical Therapy is a growing outpatient orthopedic practice in Englewood. We are small enough that you will know every patient by name and busy enough that the operation needs a real operator. We are adding service lines, growing our clinical team, and building a referral network across Bergen County.

You are the person who makes sure that when a patient walks through the door, everything behind the scenes has already been handled. The therapists treat. You run the practice.

You would also be joining at a genuinely exciting moment. We are rolling out three new services this fall, which means new workflows to build, new patients to bring in, and real ground-floor influence on how it all gets set up. 

What You Will Actually Do

Keep the Four Walls Running

You are responsible for the physical operation of the clinic. If something is out, broken, dirty, expired, or about to be, you catch it before anyone else notices.

• Maintain par levels on all office and clinical supplies so we never run out of anything, ever. Paper goods, gloves, linens, table paper, cleaning supplies, printer supplies, front office stock, treatment consumables.

• Keep the water supply, break room, and patient waiting area stocked and presentable.

• Coordinate the opening and closing routine, including cleanliness, equipment reset, and end-of-day protocols.

• Track equipment condition and servicing needs with the owner.

• Manage vendor relationships and reorder cycles. Watch pricing, catch overcharges, and consolidate where it saves money.

• Direct PT techs and clinicians to keep the treatment floor safe and uncluttered. Cords, mats, walkways, and anything a patient could trip on.

Own the Front of House

• Greet every patient in a way that makes them glad they chose us.

• Answer, triage, and route all incoming calls. Manage voicemail so nothing sits unanswered.

• Schedule, reschedule, confirm, and backfill. Keep the calendar dense and the cancellation holes filled.

• Track no-shows and cancellations, run recovery outreach, and report patterns.

• Collect copays, coinsurance, deductibles, and cash-pay balances at time of service. Reconcile daily.

• Handle patient questions on coverage, balances, and expectations with clarity and patience.

Capture Every Referral

Referrals are the lifeblood of the practice. Nothing gets lost on your watch.

• Monitor Nextiva and the clinic email inbox continuously throughout the day for incoming referrals, faxes, and physician communication.

• Log every referral on receipt, confirm receipt back to the referring office, and get the patient scheduled quickly. Speed to first contact is the difference between a referral and a lost patient.

• Track referral source volume and flag any referring provider whose volume drops off.

• Chase down missing scripts, incomplete demographics, and unsigned orders before they become a scheduling problem.

Insurance, Authorization, and the Money Side (Coordinate with Billing Company) 

• Verify eligibility and benefits before the first visit. Know what is covered, what the patient owes, and what needs authorization.

• Obtain and track prior authorizations. Monitor visit counts and secure re-authorization before visits run out, never after.

• Work alongside our outside billing company and hold them accountable on claim submission, denials, appeals, and aging.

• Maintain working knowledge of our payer mix: Aetna, BCBS, Cigna, United, Medicare, New Jersey Workers' Compensation, auto and personal injury protection, and cash pay.

• Handle records requests, lien correspondence, and documentation packets for attorneys, adjusters, and case managers.

Coordinate With the Outside World

This is a relationship job as much as an administrative one. You will be in daily contact with professionals across medicine, law, and insurance, and you will represent Capernum to all of them.

The goal in every one of those conversations is the same. Make sure what we provide lines up with what they need, and keep the patient's safety and best interest ahead of everything else. If a case is not right for us, you say so. If a patient needs something we do not offer, you help get them there.

You will regularly coordinate with:

Medical and clinical

• Referring physicians and their front office staff, including orthopedics, spine surgery, neurology, physiatry and pain management, podiatry, rheumatology, sports medicine, and primary care

• Ear, nose and throat physicians, neurologists, and audiologists for vestibular and concussion cases

• Surgical center and hospital discharge planners and case coordinators

• Imaging centers for MRI, X-ray, and diagnostic scheduling and report retrieval

• Occupational therapy, speech therapy, chiropractic, and acupuncture providers on shared patients

• Home health agencies and visiting nurse services

• Durable medical equipment and orthotics and prosthetics vendors

• Athletic trainers, strength coaches, school nurses, and athletic directors

• Pharmacies, occasionally, for medication clarification relayed to the referring provider

Legal and insurance

• Personal injury and workers' compensation attorney offices and their paralegals

• Workers' compensation nurse case managers and claims adjusters

• Auto and personal injury protection carriers and adjusters

• Independent medical examination and peer review coordinators

• Payer provider relations representatives and credentialing departments

Business and vendor

• Our outside revenue cycle management partner

• EMR support, IT, and telephony support

• Medical supply, linen, biohazard disposal, and equipment service vendors

• Building management, cleaning service, and landlord

• Insurance broker, accountant, and marketing and web support

Compliance and Safety

• Maintain HIPAA compliance across the office. Patient privacy, records handling, screen positioning, conversation discipline.

• Maintain OSHA compliance including bloodborne pathogen procedures, sharps and biohazard disposal, and the safety data sheet binder.

• Keep patient documentation complete: intake, consents, financial responsibility, assignment of benefits, and Good Faith Estimates under the No Surprises Act where required.

• Track provider credentialing and license renewals and keep supporting records current.

• Maintain emergency readiness: first aid supplies, emergency action plan, and posted procedures.

Keep Me Informed

• Escalate problems early and directly. I would rather hear about something small on day one than something large on day thirty.

• Flag clinical, scheduling, billing, or patient concerns as they arise rather than letting them accumulate.

• Deliver a short weekly rundown: visit volume, new referrals by source, cancellations and no-shows, authorization expirations coming due, outstanding collections, and anything that needs a decision from me.

• Bring solutions where you have them and questions where you do not. Both are welcome. Silence is not.

Launch and Support Three New Services

This fall we are adding three services to the practice. You will not be inheriting a finished process. You will help build it.

Dry Needling. A thin monofilament needle is inserted into a tight or irritated muscle to release trigger points and reduce pain. It is a treatment technique performed by a licensed physical therapist with advanced certification in the technique, and it is not acupuncture. It pairs well with hands-on treatment and gives us a strong option for stubborn muscular pain that has not responded to standard care.

Radial Shockwave Therapy. A handheld device delivers pressure waves into the tissue to stimulate blood flow and the body's own healing response. It is non-invasive, takes only a few minutes per session, and is commonly used for conditions like plantar fasciitis, tennis elbow, and chronic tendon pain. No needles, no downtime.

Massage Therapy. Delivered by a licensed massage therapist as a standalone service, giving our patients and the surrounding community access to quality bodywork under the same roof as their rehab.

Your role in it: These are cash-pay services, which means the front office matters more than usual. You will build and run the intake process, explain pricing clearly and comfortably to patients, collect at time of service, track uptake by service and by referral source, and tell us honestly what is working and what is not. If you have ever wanted a say in how something gets built rather than just inheriting someone else's system, this is that.

Own the Systems

We run a modern, well-tooled office. You do not need to arrive knowing all of this, and we will train you on what is specific to us. You do need to be genuinely comfortable with software and willing to become the person who knows these better than anyone in the building.

• Stride — our EMR. Scheduling, documentation, patient records, and reporting all live here.

• Google Workspace — Gmail, Drive, Calendar, Docs, and Sheets for day to day communication and documents.

• Notion — where our task lists, patient tracking, and internal reference material live. This is our operational backbone.

• Claude — we use AI throughout the practice for drafting, and workflow automation. If that sounds interesting rather than intimidating, you will do well here.

• Nextiva — our phone system. Calls, voicemail, and inbound referral traffic.

• Canva — patient education materials, referral marketing pieces, and internal graphics.

• Google Business Profile — reviews, hours, and how patients find us.

• Payer and credentialing portals — eligibility, benefits, authorizations, and provider maintenance.

Beyond the tools themselves, you will build the checklists, trackers, and routines that keep this practice running whether or not any single person is in the building that day.

How Success Gets Measured, and Rewarded

We do not believe in vague performance reviews. Here is exactly what we are watching, and hitting these consistently is tied to a performance bonus.

1. Patient Reviews

• Target: 3 new Google reviews per week, with our overall rating held at 4.8 stars or above

• Why it matters: Reviews are how patients in Bergen County decide where to go. This is the single cheapest growth lever we have and it lives with the front desk.

• Ground rule: We ask every patient who had a good experience, and we ask the same way regardless of how we expect them to rate us. We never offer anything in exchange for a review and we never screen patients before asking.

2. Cancellation Rate

• Target: under 10% of scheduled visits, counting same-day cancellations and no-shows

• Why it matters: Every empty slot is a patient not progressing and revenue we do not get back. Prevention, confirmation calls, and fast backfill are all inside your control.

3. Visit Volume and Plan Adherence

• Target: 150 completed visits per week

• Floor: 135 per week, which is 90 percent of target

• Why it matters: Patients get better when they finish their plan of care. Volume is the visible proof that people are showing up and completing what they started. Two consecutive weeks below the floor triggers a joint look at scheduling density, backfill, and lapsed patient outreach.

These are reviewed weekly in your rundown and formally monthly. Hit them and you will be paid for it.

What Matters Most

• You follow up without being reminded.

• You tell us when something is broken instead of quietly working around it.

• You are warm with patients and firm with payers.

• You treat the patient's safety and interest as the first question, not the last.

• You want to grow with our practice, not just occupy a chair in one.

Small team, big energy. Great patients, weekends off, room to grow, and bonuses that celebrate your wins. Come build with us!

Company Description

Small team, big energy. Great patients, weekends off, room to grow, and bonuses that celebrate your wins. Come build with us!