Director, Patient Access Services

UCLA Health; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 149,000 - 352,000; Full time

Job summary

UCLA Health seeks a Director of Patient Access Services to lead enterprise-wide access operations across admission, registration, and insurance verification. You will oversee a large, multi-site team and a $10M budget, driving improvements in access, throughput, and patient experience while partnering with Revenue Cycle, IT, and clinical operations.

The role requires extensive leadership, regulatory knowledge, and a track record implementing automation to enhance efficiency and accuracy in

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 12+ years in hospital patient access or revenue cycle operations.
• 7+ years leading large, multi-site teams.
• 3+ years delivering automation or technology projects in patient access.
• Strong regulatory, payer, and reimbursement knowledge.
• Experience with EMTALA, No Surprises Act, CMS, and HIPAA compliance.

Responsibilities

• Lead enterprise patient access operations across registration, admitting, pre-registration, insurance verification, financial counseling, and financial clearance.
• Develop strategies, staffing plans, and performance standards to improve access, clean claims, authorization accuracy, patient experience, and preventable balance write-offs.
• Advance digital front-door, automation, and technology initiatives to improve efficiency, accuracy, and performance.
• Monitor KPIs and translate data into actionable operational and financial improvements for executive leadership.
• Oversee daily operations, department budget, expense review, and monthly reporting for patient access functions.
• Ensure compliance with EMTALA, the No Surprises Act, CMS requirements, HIPAA, payer rules, and other regulations.

Skills

Leadership experience

Budget management

Communication across partners

Process improvement

Data analysis / KPIs

Education

Bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration, business, or related field

Master’s degree in healthcare administration or related field

Tools

Epic EHR

ADT functionality

Reporting tools

Job description

Onsite or Remote

Fully On-Site

Work Schedule

Posted Date

05/12/2026

Salary Range: $148700 - 352100 Annually

Employment Type

Duration

Indefinite

Job #

30340

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

Patient Access Services

Lead enterprise-wide patient access operations that support timely care access, strong revenue cycle performance, and a positive patient experience. As the Director of Patient Access Services, you will oversee admission, registration, pre-registration, insurance verification, financial counseling, and financial clearance functions across inpatient, outpatient, and emergency settings. This role provides leadership for a large, multi-site team and manages a $10M budget while partnering with Revenue Cycle, clinical operations, IT, Finance, Care Coordination, Managed Care, and other health system leaders to improve access, throughput, compliance, and financial outcomes.

In this role, you will:

• Lead enterprise patient access operations across registration, admitting, pre-registration, insurance verification, financial counseling, and financial clearance.
• Develop and implement strategies, policies, staffing plans, and performance standards to improve access, clean claims, authorization accuracy, the patient experience, and preventable balance write-offs and adjustments.
• Advance digital front-door, automation, and technology initiatives that improve efficiency, accuracy, and operational performance.
• Monitor KPIs and translate data into actionable operational and financial improvements for executive leadership.
• Oversee daily operations, department budget, expense review, and monthly reporting for patient access functions.
• Ensure compliance with EMTALA, the No Surprises Act, CMS requirements, HIPAA, payer rules, and other patient access regulations.
• Partner with audit and compliance teams to mitigate risk, address findings, and strengthen internal controls.
• Recruit, mentor, and develop leaders and staff while fostering accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with clinical departments, IT, Finance, Care Coordination, FPG, Transfer Center, and Managed Care teams to improve workflows and resolve access barriers.
• Serve as an executive leader for patient access transformation, surge planning, emergency preparedness, system capacity initiatives, and change management efforts.

Salary Range:

$144,400 to $341,800 annually

Job Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration, business, or a related field.
• 12 or more years of progressive experience in hospital-based patient access or revenue cycle operations.
• 7 or more years of leadership experience overseeing hospital patient access services, including large, multi-site teams.
• 3 or more years of experience leading projects that implement automation or technology enhancements within patient access areas.
• Deep understanding of state and federal regulations impacting patient access functions.
• Deep understanding of hospital billing, payer contracting, and reimbursement methodologies.
• Strong knowledge of Epic electronic health records, ADT functionality, and reporting.
• Extensive knowledge of delegated payment models and authorization requirements.
• Strong financial and analytical skills to manage budgets, forecasts, performance metrics, and operational outcomes.
• Ability to lead teams, drive performance improvement, manage change, and communicate effectively across clinical, financial, and operational partners.

Preferred

• Master’s degree in healthcare administration, public health, business, or a related field.
• Certification through NAHAM, HFMA, or AAHAM is preferred.
• Lean Six Sigma or Project Management Professional certification is preferred.

As a condition of employment the final candidate who accepts an offer of employment will be required to disclose if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct; or have filed an appeal of a finding of substantiated misconduct with a previous employer. Current/former UC employees are subject to a personnel file review.