Access Specialist I- ED

Albany Medical Center; City of Albany (NY); On-site; USD 46,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

Albany Medical Center is seeking an Emergency Department Access Specialist I for night shift in the Admitting Operations unit. The role blends Access Representative duties with Health Unit Coordination, requiring rotation across ED disciplines and coordinating triage, bedside registration, EMS desk and zone support.

Responsibilities include accurate patient identification in stressful situations, bedside insurance collection, regulatory form signatures, and collaboration with EMS, law

Qualifications

• High School Diploma/G.E.D. required.
• Associate’s Degree preferred.
• 1-3 years in customer service experience, or hospital or clinic setting preferred.
• Ability to keep composure in a high-stress environment.
• Ability to multi-task in stressful and high patient volume unit; must be able to manage pressure of high intensity situations.
• Good judgement and ability to be resourceful to problem solve; elevate issues as needed.
• Ability to manage contained blood, urine and other bodily fluids.
• Ability to handle a multi-line telephone system; paging required.
• Push 35-50 lb WOW.
• Must be able to stand for long periods of time. (Sneakers are permitted)
• Equivalent combination of relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Responsibilities

• Accurately identify patients in a highly stressful situation; this is a Patient Safety measure.
• Bedside registration including demographic, insurance information and regulatory forms; obtain signatures.
• Identify and verify insurance at bedside; handle No Fault or Worker’s Compensation for certain patients.
• Meet Access’ expectations of clinical measures; e.g., Chest pain - Door to EKG notification.
• Interact with external agency personnel: EMS Agencies, Law Enforcement, Corrections.
• Capture patient pharmacy information to expedite discharge.
• Answer multi-line telephone and manage calls calmly and courteously.
• Capture brief information via Ambulance Radio (age, chief complaint, vital signs).
• Manage the ED Patient Tracker and complete Access Specialists tasks.
• Laboratory specimen verification and timely send to laboratory.
• Manage daily workflow during system downtimes; follow downtime procedures.
• Ensure EMTALA regulations are maintained.

Skills

Social intelligence

Communication skills

Conflict management

Team collaboration

Adaptability

Patient-centric service

Stress tolerance

Education

High school diploma/G.E.D.

Associate’s degree

Job description

Department/Unit:

Admitting Operations

Work Shift:

ED DIFF_NIGHT (United States of America)

Salary Range:

$46,215.00 - $60,080.00

The Emergency Department Access Specialist I is a position that must be able to deal in a 'pressure cooker' environment. The EDAS I, is a hybrid position combining the Access Representative position and the Health Unit Coordinator position. The position includes but is not limited to rotating positions as needed ~ being trained and expected to rotate assignments in multiple disciplines within the Emergency Departments. The disciplines include:

• Triage of walk‑in patients - encompasses a quick data collection and entering in ADT System; placing of patient wristband for patient safety; acquiring a regulatory signature on the HIXNY Consent. Additionally, if patient is seen by a provider complete a full registration including General Consent and collection of financial responsibility
• The Triage role is required to accurately identify patient in the ADT system to ensure correct patient is selected. This is many times problematic; patient does not have identification.
• ED Zone Support - includes answering of multi‑line (10) telephone and managing all inquiries, transferring of telephone calls; discharging of patients via the patient medical record; verifying all laboratory specimens placed in a hazardous bag for accurate labeling by nurse or provider.
• Bedside Registration - Collection of demographic information, insurance, regulatory consent forms and collection of financial responsibility at patient’s bedside
• EMS Desk - shadow answer EMS Radio (Ambulance Agency calls from the field) and provides a brief description of patient age, complaint, Vital Signs, ambulance agency capture.

The EMS Desk role is responsible for the accurate identification of the patient with quite often no identification, EMS inaccuracy of capture of information and management of UNKNOWN Patient policy and procedure.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Responsible for the accurate patient identification in a highly stressful situation; this responsibility is a Patient Safety measure.
• Bedside registration including the need to work from a WOW; collecting patient demographic information; insurance information and obtain signatures for regulatory forms via Document Management/electronic signature; the collection includes Medicare patients collecting the regulatory mandate of the MSPQ information
• Responsible for identifying and verifying insurance at bedside; obtaining additional information if No Fault or Worker’s Compensation for MVA patients and employee’s hurt at work.
• Ensure Access’ expectations of key clinical measures are executed and timeframes met ie: Chest pain - Door to EKG notification.
• Ability to review, assess and assign the appropriate health insurance plan and collect copayment, if applicable at bedside.
• Ability to interact effectively with external agency personnel: EMS Agencies, Law Enforcement Agencies and Correction Facilities.
• Capture of patient’s pharmacy in support of expediate discharge by nurse and physician
• Answering multi‑line telephone and managing all calls in calm, courteous, respectful manner
• Capture brief information via Ambulance Radio including patient description, age, chief complaint and Vital Signs
• Managing the ED Patient Tracker and completing the Access Specialists tasks as identified
• Laboratory specimen verification and assurance of timely send to laboratory
• Responsible to manage daily workflow during scheduled and unscheduled SYSTEM downtimes - following downtime procedures. Responsible for downtime flow in the ED during system downtimes.
• Ensure EMTALA Regulations are maintained.

Functional Competencies

• Social and Emotional Intelligence
• Ability to deal with a diverse population including critically injured, mentally disturbed and belligerent
• Patient centric - customer service
• Conflict Management
• Team-oriented support
• Adaptable to high-stress situation
• Excellent communication skill

Qualifications

• High School Diploma/G.E.D. - required
• Associate’s Degree - preferred
• 1-3 years in customer service experience, or a hospital or clinic setting - preferred
• Ability to keep composure in a high-stress environment.
• Ability to multi-task in stressful and high patient volume unit; must be able to manage pressure of high intensity situations
• Good judgement and ability to be resourceful to problem solve; elevate issues as needed
• Ability to manage contained blood, urine and other bodily fluids
• Ability to handle a multi-line telephone system; paging required
• Ability to push 35- 50 lb WOW
• Must be able to stand for long periods of time. (Sneakers are permitted)

Equivalent combination of relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Physical Demands

• Standing - Constantly
• Walking - Constantly
• Sitting - Constantly
• Lifting - Rarely
• Carrying - Rarely
• Pushing - Constantly (35-50lbs)
• Pulling - Constantly (35-50lbs)
• Climbing - Rarely
• Balancing - Rarely
• Stooping - Rarely
• Kneeling - Rarely
• Crouching - Rarely
• Crawling - Rarely
• Reaching - Rarely
• Handling - Occasionally
• Grasping - Occasionally
• Feeling - Frequently
• Talking - Constantly
• Hearing - Constantly
• Repetitive Motions - Frequently
• Eye/Hand/Foot Coordination - Frequently

Working Conditions

• Extreme cold - Rarely
• Extreme heat - Rarely
• Humidity - Rarely
• Wet - Rarely
• Noise - Occasionally
• Hazards - Rarely
• Temperature Change - Rarely
• Atmospheric Conditions - Rarely
• Vibration - Rarely

Thank you for your interest in Albany Medical Center!

Albany Medical Center is an equal opportunity employer.

This role may require access to information considered sensitive to Albany Medical Center, its patients, affiliates, and partners, including but not limited to HIPAA Protected Health Information and other information regulated by Federal and New York State statutes. Workforce members are expected to ensure that:
Access to information is based on a "need to know" and is the minimum necessary to properly perform assigned duties. Use or disclosure shall not exceed the minimum amount of information needed to accomplish an intended purpose. Reasonable efforts, consistent with Albany Medical Center policies and standards, shall be made to ensure that information is adequately protected from unauthorized access and modification.

Thank you for your interest in Albany Med Health System!

Albany Med Health System is an equal opportunity employer.

This role may require access to information considered sensitive to Albany Med Health System, its patients, affiliates, and partners, including but not limited to HIPAA Protected Health Information and other information regulated by Federal and New York State statutes. Workforce members are expected to ensure that:

Access to information is based on a "need to know" and is the minimum necessary to properly perform assigned duties. Use or disclosure shall not exceed the minimum amount of information needed to accomplish an intended purpose. Reasonable efforts, consistent with Albany Med Health System policies and standards, shall be made to ensure that information is adequately protected from unauthorized access and modification.