Patient Access Center Representative

Astera Cancer Care; Town of Clifton Park (NY); On-site; USD 28,000 - 39,000; Full time

Job summary

New York Oncology Hematology (NYOH) is seeking a Patient Access Center team member to coordinate scheduling, referrals, and patient navigation across multiple Capital Region locations. You will handle calls, collect information, and support a smooth patient experience within centralized workflows.

Qualified candidates have a high school diploma and 2+ years in customer service or healthcare access roles. Oncology experience is a plus; HIPAA and care coordination knowledge are expected.

Qualifications

• Knowledge of medical terminology and patient access processes.
• Strong customer service and communication skills are essential.
• Experience with electronic health records and scheduling tools preferred.

Responsibilities

• Answer and manage calls from patients, caregivers, providers, and staff.
• Coordinate appointments, referrals, and patient flow across locations.
• Process electronic work queues and triage requests for clinical teams.
• Support care coordination and patient navigation to ensure timely access.

Skills

Medical terminology

Customer service

Communication

Multiple systems

Organizational skills

Fast-paced environment

Education

High school diploma

Associate degree

Tools

EHR systems

Scheduling platforms

Ticketing systems

Job description

Why Join Us? Be part of a practice at the forefront of cutting-edge cancer care and advanced treatments. Access opportunities for professional growth and continuing education. Work alongside a collaborative and compassionate team of experts dedicated to making a difference. Enjoy the convenience of multiple locations throughout the Capital Region. Contribute to groundbreaking clinical trials that shape the future of oncology care. Discover your career potential with a practice dedicated to excellence and innovation.

Job Description:

Pay Range: $20-$28 Hourly

Scope: Serves as a key member of the Patient Access Center and supports patient access activities for multiple oncology practice locations. Acts as a central resource for patients, caregivers, providers, and internal teams by facilitating access to oncology services, and information. Coordinates scheduling, referral intake, patient navigation, clinical message intake, and care coordination activities through a centralized service model. Supports a seamless patient experience through timely communication, first-call resolution, and collaboration with multidisciplinary teams. Utilizes electronic health records, scheduling platforms, ticketing systems, and standardized workflows to support operational and patient care objectives.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Call Center Operations: Answer and manage incoming patients, caregiver, provider and internal calls. Assess caller needs and determine appropriate resolution pathways. Provide accurate information regarding appointments, services, providers and patient resources. Document all interactions in the electronic health record and ticketing systems. Provide courteous, professional, and empathetic support while addressing patient, caregiver, provider, and internal customer needs. Support first-call resolution whenever possible. Escalate unresolved concerns appropriately.
• Appointment and Treatment Scheduling: Utilize electronic health records, scheduling applications, and embedded technology solutions to coordinate patient access and scheduling activities efficiently. Schedule, reschedule and cancel appointments including consultations, follow-up visits, laboratory services, imaging, supportive care services, and treatment related appointments in accordance with established guidelines. Assist with coordination of new patient referrals, obtain required information, facilitate record collection, and communicate appointment details, preparation requirements, and next steps to patients and referring providers. Manage waitlists, scheduling worklists, and appointment optimization opportunities while supporting provider template utilization.
• Electronic Work Queue Management: Monitor and process assigned electronic work queues, scheduling requests, inboxes, and patient access worklists to ensure timely follow-up and resolution. Escalate unresolved issues through established workflows and service standards.
• Clinical Message Intake and Escalation Process: calls regarding symptoms, medication concerns, refill requests, side effects, and other clinical issues requiring nursing or provider review. Utilize approved workflows to gather information, document interactions, and create triage tickets for appropriate clinical teams. Recognize urgent or emergent concerns and follow escalation procedures.
• Patient Navigation and Care Coordination: Facilitate communication and coordination between patients, caregivers, providers, and operational departments to support continuity of care and timely access to services. Assist patients in navigating services across the oncology network and support resolution of access related concerns.
• Quality and Compliance: Comply with HIPAA and confidentiality requirements. Maintain productivity, quality, and service standards. Participate in training, quality audits, and process improvement activities. Follow all organizational policies and standardized workflows. Supports and adheres to the New York Oncology Hematology Compliance Program, to include the Code of Ethics and Business Standards.

Minimum Qualifications:

• High School Diploma or GED required
• Associate degree preferred
• Minimum two years’ customer service experience.
• Minimum one year healthcare scheduling, healthcare call center, patient access, medical office, or related healthcare experience.
• Oncology experience preferred.

Knowledge, skills, and Abilities:

• Knowledge of medical terminology.
• Strong customer service skills.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple systems simultaneously.
• Strong organizational and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment.

Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Requires sitting for long periods of time. Some bending and stretching required. Adequate finger dexterity and feeling to perform keyboarding and substantial repetitive motions involving the wrists, hands and/or fingers. Requires vision and hearing corrected to normal range. Must be able to view computer screens and print material accurately. Occasionally lift and carry items weighing up to 40 lbs.

Build a Career That Makes a Difference

At New York Oncology Hematology (NYOH), we’re more than just the Capital Region’s leader in cancer care and blood disorders—we’re a team of passionate professionals united by a shared mission: to provide compassionate, cutting-edge care to thousands of patients each year. With six state-of-the-art cancer centers across Albany, Amsterdam, Clifton Park, Hudson, and Troy—and a dedicated women’s imaging center, Akira Medical Imaging + Wellness—we bring advanced treatment close to home. Our team includes 35 board-certified physicians and more than 300 cancer care specialists, all working together across medical oncology, radiation oncology, hematology and gynecologic oncology and surgery. At NYOH, we are committed to delivering excellent health care to help our patients continue to tell their story. If you’re looking for more than just a job—if you want a career with purpose—join us and be part of a community that’s changing lives and shaping the future of cancer care.