Front Desk Specialist

Front Desk Specialist

Ascend Medical, founded in 2021, has a mission to elevate body, mind and soul. Our advanced primary care clinically integrates behavioral, metabolic and lifestyle aspects of health to keep you well physically, mentally and emotionally. Ascend started as a convenient, hybrid delivery model spanning digital and at home modalities, meeting patients where they are: at home, at work or anywhere else. We have since evolved and now partner with traditional primary care providers to augment their offering, allowing patients to experience Ascend through brick-and-mortar, digital and at-home channels.

Unlike your typical healthcare system, Ascend is designed to innovate. Innovation starts with a culture that is excited to reimagine healthcare and is not afraid to disrupt. We try to avoid any micro-management of employees but rather embrace a core set of values that empower our team-members to make smart decisions:

• Patients before Profits
• Empathy before Expedience
• Progress before Stagnation
• Team before Individual
• Safety before Everything

At Ascend Medical, you'll be part of a team of caring and innovative professionals who are forging a new path in healthcare one that is patient-centered, affordable, and highly convenient. Ascend boasts the highest patient satisfaction scores in the industry (net promoter score consistently above 95) and we excel in delighting patients.

We offer a competitive benefits package to our employees:

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• 401k w/ Match
• Generous PTO, paid parental leave, company holidays

The Front Desk Specialist serves as the first point of contact for patients and visitors and is responsible for creating a welcoming, professional, and efficient patient experience. This position manages patient scheduling, registration, insurance verification, intake documentation, provider calendar management, and daily front office operations.

The Front Desk Specialist works closely with patients, providers, billing, and administrative teams to ensure seamless clinic operations while maintaining the highest standards of customer service, confidentiality, and regulatory compliance.

Patient Scheduling & Coordination

• Schedule intake assessments, psychiatric evaluations, therapy appointments, and follow-up visits.
• Match patients with the appropriate provider based on clinical and scheduling needs.
• Manage appointment cancellations, rescheduling requests, and waitlists.
• Utilize reporting tools to maximize appointment utilization and reduce scheduling gaps.
• Send appointment reminders via phone, text, email, and patient portal communications.
• Maintain provider calendars and monitor scheduling availability.

Patient Registration & Intake

• Collect demographic, insurance, and contact information from patients.
• Enter and update patient information within the electronic health record (EHR).
• Distribute and collect intake paperwork, consent forms, insurance cards, and payment information.
• Ensure all required documentation is completed before appointments.
• Review and update patient records for accuracy and completeness.

Insurance & Financial Responsibilities

• Verify insurance eligibility, benefits, and referral requirements.
• Manage Tricare referral verification when applicable.
• Document insurance verification findings within patient records.
• Confirm copays and communicate patient financial responsibility.
• Coordinate with the billing department to resolve insurance and account questions.

Patient Communication

• Answer incoming calls from patients, family members, providers, and referral sources.
• Respond promptly to voicemails, emails, and patient portal messages.
• Provide information regarding services, appointment availability, and office policies.
• Route communications appropriately to providers and internal departments.

Compliance & Administrative Support

• Maintain HIPAA compliance and safeguard protected health information.
• Follow established documentation standards and organizational policies.
• Assist with audits, reporting activities, and quality assurance initiatives.
• Coordinate monthly pharmaceutical representative lunches and provider support activities.
• Maintain accurate records and support clinic administrative operations.

Key Responsibilities:

Book telehealth appointments, triage patients virtually, and records patient interview, history & chief complaint utilizing Ascend's EMR.

Facilitate telehealth consultations by pre-visit chart review or planning, ensuring all equipment is operable prior to appointment, orienting patients to the technology, facilitates communication between provider and patient as needed, and participating in assessments by utilizing technology and other equipment for the purposes of the telehealth encounter.

Prepare patients for examinations and performs/sets up referrals for routine screening tests; assists physician with exams; explain treatment procedures and physicians' instructions to patient.

Work directly with the Care Coordinator to ensure all patients have care plans and follow up appointments lined out by the provider.

Organize and manage inbound and/or outbound communications calls, chats, and emails as assigned.

Offer advice and guidance to new and existing members, educating new members on the benefits of Ascend Medical and clearly guide members on how to utilize the company's services, and assist patients to understand and navigate their health insurance so they maximize available benefits.

Processes patient phone messages, online messages, follow up calls, and routing them to other team members as appropriate; call/secure messaging with patients to obtain and relay pertinent information for the physician.

Conduct business in a service-oriented manner that is attentive, cooperative, sensitive, respectful, and kind with dealing with patients, visitors, the public and all colleagues

Required

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Strong customer service and communication skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and professionalism.

Preferred

• One or more years of healthcare, behavioral health, medical office, or customer service experience.
• Experience with electronic health record (EHR) systems.
• Experience with scheduling, insurance verification, and patient registration processes.
• Knowledge of HIPAA and healthcare privacy regulations.

This is a high growth, fast paced small organization. The ability to be productive, agile, and successful in an intense work environment is critical.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The above job description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position. Incumbents will follow any other instructions, and perform any other related duties, as assigned by their supervisor.