Houston Methodist

Nonprofit academic medical center with hospitals

Patient Access Associate

Clinical Support & Patient AdministrationPosted on Nov 6

Full-timeClear Lake, Houston, TX, USANo salary listedIn-person

About the Job

Requirements

A high school diploma or equivalent education is required.
Two years of experience in a strong customer service environment is required.
The candidate must demonstrate the skills and competencies necessary to safely perform the assigned job, as determined through ongoing skills and competency assessments and performance evaluations.
The candidate must have sufficient proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing English to perform essential job functions, especially those affecting patient or employee safety or security.
The candidate must communicate effectively with patients, physicians, family members, and coworkers using a customer-service focus and positive language principles.
The candidate must be able to multitask and adapt to meet patient and department requirements.
The candidate must have knowledge of basic registration and access functions and insurance procedures.
The candidate must be able to solve problems and remain calm in stressful situations with patience and understanding.
The candidate must have professional communication skills and be proficient with computers and able to learn and navigate multiple software programs.
The candidate must handle detailed work accurately and rapidly.
The candidate must comply with department, hospital, governmental, and healthcare licensing agency requirements relating to EMTALA and HIPAA.

Responsibilities

Obtain and enter accurate patient demographic and insurance information in the electronic health record at facility entry points, interviewing patients, family members, and physicians as needed.
Perform cashiering functions and secure hospital accounts by collecting required copayments, deductibles, and coinsurance.
Perform medical necessity checks to ensure compliance with Medicare guidelines and confirm that ordered services meet applicable medical necessity criteria.
Explain consent forms, obtain signatures, and respond to questions professionally.
Use patient identifiers consistently to identify patients and correct medical records, protect private health information under HIPAA guidelines, and avoid issuing new medical record numbers to patients with existing accounts.
Ensure correct insurance plan codes are used for billing, verify insurance to determine patient out-of-pocket expenses, collect and post payments accurately, issue receipts, and balance the cash drawer daily in accordance with department policy.
Offer payment options when applicable after the minimum required payment has been received, and meet monthly cash-collection goals.
Meet departmental goals such as registration error rates and productivity or activities per hour.
Communicate professionally and without judgment with customers and coworkers, and contribute to a positive, collaborative work environment.
Address patient issues and concerns proactively and alert management promptly to unusual or difficult situations affecting service.
Organize time and priorities effectively, minimize incidental overtime, use time between heavy workloads efficiently, and assist other team members.
Suggest process improvements to streamline patient flow, adapt to changing demands, and pursue learning beyond baseline competencies.

Desired Qualifications

One year of hospital registration experience is preferred.

At Houston Methodist, the Patient Access Associate position is responsible for obtaining and entering accurate demographic and insurance information in the electronic health record (EHR) on patients presenting at the various entry points of the facility. This position performs cashiering functions, ensuring that all hospital accounts are secure, through the collection of the required co-pay, deductibles and co-insurance. This position also performs the medical necessity check, to ensure compliance with Medicare guidelines. The Patient Access Associate position employs effective communication skills, promoting excellent customer service in every interaction. This position is also required to adhere to all departments, hospital, governmental and/or any other healthcare licensing agency requirements related to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

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

Two years of experience in a strong customer service environment
One year of registration experience in a hospital environment preferred

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 requirements of the patients and the department
Knowledge of basic registration/access functions and insurance procedures
Ability to problem solve
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

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.
Communicates openly in a non-judgmental manner and in a professional demeanor during all interactions with customers and co-workers.

SERVICE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Obtains and records accurate demographic and insurance information on patients by interviewing patients, family members and physicians. Ensures that the correct insurance plan codes are utilized for the billing process.
Explains the consent forms, obtains signatures on the forms and responds to any questions in a professional manner.
Contributes to departmental and hospital patient experience. Proactively seeks solutions to address patient issues and concerns. Alerts management in a timely manner to any unusual and/or difficult situations impacting the level of service.

QUALITY/SAFETY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Consistently takes the necessary steps to ensure that protected health information remains private and confidential, according to established HIPAA guidelines. Uses patient identifiers consistently to properly identify patients and the correct medical records. Refrains from issuing new medical record numbers to patients with existing accounts.
Meets goals set by the department (e.g., registration error rate, productivity/activities per hour, etc.).

FINANCE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Ensures that ordered services meet established medical necessity criteria when applicable.
Collects payments based on pre-determined information. Performs insurance verification to determine patient out of pocket expenses for services. If applicable, offers payment options after the minimum required payment has been received. Fulfills monthly goals for cash collection.
Accurately posts and receipts patient payments. Balances cash drawer on a daily basis; follows the department policy related to cash drawers and cash receipting.
Organizes time effectively, minimizing incidental overtime and sets priorities. Utilizes time between heavy workloads efficiently and helps other team members.

GROWTH/INNOVATION ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Displays initiative to improve job functions. Demonstrates adaptability and flexibility during changing demands. Offers suggestions to streamline process for efficient patient flow.
Seeks opportunities to expand learning beyond baseline competencies with a focus on continual development.

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

Work Shift:

2 - Evening (United States of America)



Job Category:

Non-clinical

Houston Methodist Clear Lake Hospital is committed to leading medicine in Clear Lake and surrounding communities by delivering the Houston Methodist standard of exceptional safety, quality, service and innovation. Houston Methodist Clear Lake provides a broad spectrum of adult, pediatric, medical and surgical care. It is an accredited chest pain center and acute stroke-ready designated through DNV. Houston Methodist Clear Lake offers advanced inpatient and outpatient services, including state-of-the-art imaging; childbirth center with a level II neonatal intensive care unit; minimally invasive surgery; cancer center; neurology and spine care; heart and vascular care; bariatric and digestive care; emergency care; primary care; rehabilitation services; and comprehensive orthopedics and sports medicine.


Houston Methodist is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

About the Company

Houston Methodist

Nonprofit academic medical center with hospitals

Houston Methodist is a nonprofit academic medical center and hospital system in the Houston area. It delivers fee-for-service care through eight hospitals, focusing on cancer, heart and vascular care, transplantation, neurosciences, orthopedics, and digestive disorders, and treats thousands of international patients. The system combines patient care with research, education, and philanthropy through the Houston Methodist Hospital Foundation, with its flagship at the Texas Medical Center and partnerships with Weill Cornell Medicine, Texas A&M, and Rice University that support programs like EnMed and a broad clinical trials network via the Houston Methodist Research Institute. Its goal is to improve patient outcomes by providing high-quality medical care while expanding research, education, and collaborative clinical programs.

Company size: 10,001+
Company stage: Not listed
Total funding: Not listed
Headquarters: Houston, TX
Founded: 2008

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