HIM Operations Specialist

UNC Health Care; Eastowne (NC); Hybrid; USD 26,000 - 37,000; Full time

Job summary

UNC Health in Chapel Hill, NC is seeking a Release of Information Associate. The role processes all release of information requests promptly, ensuring privacy and HIPAA compliance while supporting physicians and departments.

The position emphasizes accuracy, confidentiality, and timely response with a hybrid work arrangement. The successful candidate will have at least a high school diploma, 1 year of medical records experience, and the ability to coordinate with multiple stakeholders to

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED required; higher-level degree may satisfy this requirement.
• Requires one (1) year of general medical record experience.
• No licensure or certification required.

Responsibilities

• Provides customer service support and processes correspondence and requests for patient information in accordance with policies, HIPAA, and regulations.
• Prioritize release of information requests; retrieve records from locations and deliver in a timely manner.
• Process requests and maintain confidentiality; handle STAT requests and ensure turnaround times of 3–5 days.
• Perform self-quality checks to ensure accuracy and confidentiality of releases.
• Handle all requests and inquiries for patient health information via mail, fax, phone, or in-person.
• Ensure the requester has a legal right to access patient information.
• Coordinate with outside vendors to ensure records are available by deposition date; monitor record completion.
• Analyze patient information to ensure compliance with standards and evaluate scanning/indexing quality.

Skills

HIPAA compliance

Customer service

Records analysis

Interdepartmental coordination

Education

High school diploma or GED

Job description

Description

Your passion belongs at UNC Health. Join more than 56,000 teammates working together to improve the health and well-being of the communities we serve across North Carolina.

Summary

This position is responsible for processing all release of information requests in a timely and efficient manner ensuring accuracy and providing customers with the highest quality product and customer service. Associate must at all times safeguard and protect the patients right to privacy by ensuring that only authorized individuals have access to the patient's medical information and that all releases of information are in compliance with the request, authorization, company policy and HIPAA regulations. Associates will also be responsible for Analyzing patient information to ensure compliance with standards established by Federal/State & Joint Commission & CMS regulations and will monitor the chart completion activities of all physician including the limitation of Admitting and Scheduling Procedures. They will work cooperatively with all HIM leadership, staff, physicians and internal and external customers to ensure goals are met and quality targets are reached and maintained.

Responsibilities

1. Provides customer service support and processes correspondence and requests for patient information in accordance with organizational policies, HIPAA, State and Federal regulations, and ensures the validity of dates and content of the requests in a timely manner.
2. Prioritize release of information requests, retrieves medical records from active and inactive and interdepartmental locations, electronically tracks and delivers records in accordance with established procedures.
3. Processes requests, assures confidentially is maintained, handles STAT requests, sends action letters timely, ensures turnaround times are between 3 and 5 days, enters requests, and requests charts in a timely manner.
4. Performs self-quality checks on all work to assure accuracy of the release and that confidentiality is maintained.
5. Handles all requests and inquiries for patient health information whether received via mail, fax, phone or in-person.
6. Ensures the requesting party has a legal right to request a patient's medical information
7. Provide excellent customer service by being attentive and respectful; insures understanding of customer request and follows-through as promised; and being proactive in identifying client concerns, or problems. Helps resolve customer service matters in a polite manner.
8. Coordinates activities with outside vendor copier service to ensure medical records are available by the deposition date. Analyzes and monitors record completion activities of suspended physicians and generates automated incomplete record notices to physicians. Assists physicians in record completion
9. Analyzes patient information to ensure compliance with standards established by Federal/State & Joint Commission & CMS regulations. Evaluates scanned images for proper indexing, patient verification, and legibility according to department standards. Identifies scanning quality and indexing errors, with immediate correction through rescanning of the batch and/or image.
10. Works closely with departmental leaders to promptly research and resolve issues reported by physicians, other departments, and customers.

Other Information

Education Requirements:

• High school diploma or GED required; higher-level degree may satisfy this requirement.

Licensure/Certification Requirements:

• No licensure or certification required.

Professional Experience Requirements:

• Requires one (1) year of general medical record experience

Knowledge/Skills/and Abilities Requirements:

Job Details

Legal Employer: NCHEALTH

Entity: Shared Services

Organization Unit: HIM Denial and Audit Managemen

Work Type: Full Time

Standard Hours Per Week: 40.00

Salary Range:$19.12 - $27.17 per hour (Hiring Range)

Pay offers are determined by experience and internal equity

Work Assignment Type: Hybrid

Work Schedule: Day Job

Location of Job: US:NC:Chapel Hill

Exempt From Overtime: Exempt: No

This position is employed by NC Health (Rex Healthcare, Inc., d/b/a NC Health), a private, fully-owned subsidiary of UNC Health Care System, in a department that provides shared services to operations across UNC Health Care; except that, if you are currently a UNCHCS State employee already working in a designated shared services department, you may remain a UNCHCS State employee if selected for this job.

Qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, status as a protected veteran or political affiliation.

UNC Health makes reasonable accommodations for applicants' and employees' religious practices and beliefs, as well as applicants and employees with disabilities. All interested applicants are invited to apply for career opportunities. Please email [e-mail] if you need a reasonable accommodation to search and/or to apply for a career opportunity.