Information Associate (Req 101107)

Wmyhealth; City of Albany (NY); Hybrid; USD 28,000 - 33,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous time off

Affordable health, dental and vision

401k with safe harbor employer match

Tuition reimbursement

Commuter benefits

Job summary

Whitney Young Health in Albany, NY is seeking an Administrative Assistant to support clinical programs with patient registration, insurance verification, scheduling, and data entry in the EHR system.

You will handle payment processing, referrals, and communications with diverse patients, ensuring a smooth patient journey while maintaining HIPAA compliance and excellent customer service.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED required.
• 1–3 years experience in a service-oriented administrative office.
• Strong communication and organizational skills.
• Ability to work as part of a team and handle sensitive information.

Responsibilities

• Assist patients with registration, insurance/financial information, and portal sign-up.
• Verify insurance eligibility and copay amounts.
• Complete checkout and schedule next visits with proper documentation.
• Process payments, reconcile cash, and deposit funds securely.
• Schedule, reschedule, and cancel appointments per protocol.
• Enter and locate patient information in the EHR.
• Notify patients of appointment details and expectations.
• Maintain referrals and coordination with external providers.
• Assist with sliding fee discount applications and HIPAA compliance.

Skills

Customer service

Data entry

Communication

Teamwork

Education

High school diploma or GED

Tools

EHR software

Job description

Description

Be a part of the mission at Whitney Young Health (WYH) to provide high quality healthcare that is affordable and accessible to our diverse community.

WYH has a robust benefits package including generous time off, affordable health, dental and vision insurance, 401k with safe harbor employer match, tuition reimbursement, term life insurance, commuter benefits and more!

GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

Responsible for administrative processes and support functions for Whitney M. Young, Jr., Health Services clinical programs.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Assists patients in completing all registration information including, but not limited to demographics, insurance/financial information and case assignment, consents, data collection, and portal signup. Enters aforementioned information into the electronic health record.
• Verifies insurance information including, but not limited to eligibility for the specific service and visit, copay amount, and PCP/provider.
• Completes the checkout process including, but not limited to scheduling the next visit as indicated, and provides patients with complete documentation.
• Follows all payment collection processes including but not limited to payment collection from patients, enters information into the electronic health record, provides patients with a payment receipt, reconciles receipts and any cash collected, and deposits payment into a secure drop box.
• Handles appointment scheduling/rescheduling/cancellation functions for WYH and community providers while following established protocols; including, but not limited to proper patient identification, provider or specialty specific guidelines, visit type and status usage, visit reason, address and phone verification, case assignment, and/or prescription eligibility.
• Scans patient information into the correct location within the EHR.
• Notifies patients of the details and expectations for appointments made (date, time, if special instructions indicated).
• Ensures no-show patients at the specialists practice are contacted.
• Ensures that referrals are addressed in a timely manner.
• Maintains ongoing tracking and appropriate documentation on referrals, diagnostic imaging, and all appointments arranged outside the WYH organization.
• Assists patients in completing the application for the sliding fee discount program.
• Takes messages and sends to the appropriate staff person following established protocols which include but are not limited to handling emergent calls, other defined prioritization, correct patient contact information, and complete and accurate messages.
• Provides assistance and general information to patients, visitors, or staff as requested in regards to all WYH sites such as hours of operation, services provided, procedures performed, specific information in regards to special event activities, etc.
• Proactively contacts patients either via phone, fax, letter, etc. as indicated for a variety of purposes, such as appointment changes, data collection, information update.
• Use paging system when necessary and remains knowledgeable in regards to emergency procedures, codes, and how to reach staff in order to assist during drills or real life situations.
• Ability to communicate with patients in a professional and equitable manner recognizing our diverse population in regards to differences such as age, gender preference, ethnicity, language, etc.
• Consistently greets patients in a pleasant manner and communicates any prolonged visit time.
• Maintains efficient, effective flow of patients by following work flow priorities.
• Ensures work areas are fully stocked with office supplies and relevant forms
• Ensure daily reports are run including forms necessary for downtime procedures.
• Collects and distributes medically necessary forms to provider staff for patients, eg: disability, pre-employment, school entry, etc. and assists patients when forms are complete.
• Remains knowledgeable about and completes the procedures related to release of information for patient records.
• Plans for and demonstrates flexibility in personal workflow in response to unit workload.
• Maintains responsibility for attendance and punctuality.
• Assists with orienting new employees.
• Demonstrates excellence in both internal and external customer service.
• Understands and is able to effectively communicate HIPAA compliance, corporate compliance and client confidentiality.
• Ensures and/or remains in compliance with local, state, and federal regulation, i.e. DHHS HRSA and NYSDOH, and all accreditation standards (e.g. Joint Commission and NCQA-PCMH).
• Adheres to the National Patient Safety Goals as defined by the Joint Commission and Whitney M. Young Jr. Health Center.
• Completes all other duties as assigned.

Requirements

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

High school diploma or GED. , One (1) to three (3) years’ experience in a service oriented administrative office dealing with the general public. Organizational skills and effective communication skills. Able to work as a member of a team. Word processing/keyboarding skills. Excellent customer service skills, tact and diplomacy required to deal with people under stressful conditions.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

One (1) to three (3) years’ experience in a similar role in a medical office. Bi-lingual. Knowledge of managed care requirements. Working knowledge of electronic health record software.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other legally protected status.

Salary range: $20.11 - $23.69 hourly