Patient Access Coordinator

Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH); Lexington (KY); On-site; USD 42,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) in Lexington, KY is seeking a Patient Access Coordinator to manage referrals, eligibility verification, pre-registration, and scheduling while ensuring timely authorizations and minimizing denials.

The role includes communicating estimated out-of-pocket costs, collecting payments, and screening for financial assistance programs as needed. Strong customer service and EMR proficiency are essential.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED required.
• Several years of experience in patient access, revenue cycle management, or related healthcare administration roles; scheduling, authorizations, and financial counseling preferred.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and customer service skills.
• Experience as Medical Assistant in a physician practice preferred.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and process referral requests and scheduling with patients and referring offices.
• Receive referrals via email, fax, phone, or EMR interface.
• Schedule patient appointments including tests, procedures, and follow-ups.
• Pre-register patients by verifying eligibility and benefits with insurers.
• Educate patients on out-of-pocket costs and collect prepayments or past-due balances.
• Screen patients for ARH Financial Assistance or other funding sources.
• Obtain pre-authorization from insurers and manage documentation and follow-up.
• Maintain EMR task lists and adhere to policies and compliance.

Skills

Patient access

Customer service

Communication

Scheduling

Financial counseling

EMR systems

Education

High school diploma or GED

Tools

EMR systems

Payer portals

Job description

Overview

Under the general supervision of department leadership, the Patient Access Coordinator is responsible for referral processing and scheduling patients while ensuring insurance eligibility, benefit verification, pre-registration, and authorization are all completed on time to prevent denials or a delay in patient care. Additionally, the Patient Access Coordinator must determine, communicate, and collect patient liability before service and attempt to collect prior balances. The Specialist will also screen patients who are self-pay or underinsured for financial assistance or other applicable programs as needed.

Responsibilities

• Coordinates and processes referral requests, guiding the patient and the referring provider’s office through the intake and scheduling process. This ensures that their needs and expectations are met in a timely manner while providing exceptional customer service.


• Receives referrals via multiple delivery methods, including email, fax, telephone, and EMR interface.


• Schedules patient appointments, including diagnostic tests, procedures, surgeries, physician consultations, post-op/follow-ups, and other ancillary tests.


• Responsible for pre-registering patient appointments by calling insurance companies or using payer portals to obtain and document eligibility and benefits, coverage assignments, and patient financial responsibility.


• Calls patients before appointments and educates them on out-of-pocket expectations. Provides procedure estimates and attempts to collect prepayments and outstanding past-due balances.


• Screens patients for ARH Financial Assistance Program or determines eligibility for referral to other funding resources.


• Performs all tasks to support and obtain pre-authorization from insurance companies, which include (but are not limited to) submitting pre-certification requests and clinical documentation via online portal, phone, and fax with correct CPT and ICD coding, researching payer medical policy requirements and treatment authorization guidelines, following up on outstanding authorization requests and medical documentation requests promptly, communicating with medical/clinical staff and patients on authorization status/outcome or ordering provider on denied or disputed determinations.


• Contact patient and physician offices for additional information and follow-up.


• Responsible for clearing assigned task lists and workloads within EMR systems daily while maintaining quality and productivity standards to ensure the highest service and optimal patient care.


• Adheres to all department and organization policies and procedures and state and federal laws and requirements.


• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Minimum Education

High school diploma/GED required.

Minimum Work Experience

• Several years of experience in patient access, revenue cycle management, or related healthcare administration roles with preferred experience in scheduling, authorizations, and financial counseling.


• Strong understanding of healthcare regulations and compliance requirements.


• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and customer service skills.


• Experience working as a Medical Assistant in a physician practice performing both clinical and administrative duties also preferred.

Required Licenses/Certifications

Certified Medical Assistant (preferred, But Not Required)

Required Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities

• Understanding of best practice for patient access, insurance eligibility, customer service, authorizations, scheduling, and financial counseling.