Patient Access Representative

San Juan Regional Medical Center; United States; On-site; USD 30,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

San Juan Regional Medical Center is hiring a Patient Access Representative focused on delivering quality service through accurate patient registration. The role requires effective communication, customer service, and organizational skills.

Responsibilities include managing patient information, ensuring pre-registrations, and providing support in various patient care situations. Ideal candidates will show flexibility and the ability to work collaboratively within a high-stress environment.

Qualifications

• Must possess keyboard skills with an accuracy of 35 words per minute.
• Ability to operate office equipment like fax machines and scanners.
• Prior experience in data entry.

Responsibilities

• Facilitate accurate patient registration for medical care.
• Assign accurate MRNs and verify patient eligibility.
• Provide excellent customer service and maintain department logs.

Skills

Effective verbal and written communication skills

Excellent customer service skills

Ability to set priorities

Ability to work collaboratively

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Tools

Computer skills

Job description

Creating Life Better Here starts with you. At San Juan Regional Medical Center, we're more than a healthcare provider—we're a values-driven organization dedicated to delivering exceptional care. As a team member, you help fulfill our mission to make life better here for our community.

The Patient Access Representative inspires trust and offers comfort to patients and families while facilitating access to medical care through the timely and accurate registration of all patients. The role collaborates and communicates with physicians and care departments to facilitate patient flow and personalize the patient experience.

Required Behaviors

As you go about fulfilling this mission, your work habits and work relationships should embody SJRMC's values. These values—Sacred Trust, Personal Reverence, Thoughtful Anticipation, Team Accountability, and Creative Vitality—ask for a deeper level of commitment and guide how we interact with patients, colleagues, and the community.

Required Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent
• Keyboard skills: accurately typing 35 words per minute
• Ability to operate a computer and other office equipment (copy machines, scanners, fax machines, etc.)
• Prior experience in data entry and ability to enter information accurately into a computer
• Effective verbal and written communication skills and the ability to present information clearly and professionally
• Ability to set priorities amid multiple demands and interruptions
• Ability to obtain necessary personal and financial information from patients who are ill and / or under stress
• Ability to work effectively with a team of varying personalities and cultures
• Excellent customer service skills
• Willingness to ask patients for co‑payments and deposits, as appropriate
• Flexibility in schedule to accommodate the needs of the patients and the department
• Skills to effectively present information and respond to questions from patients and customers, with proficiency
• Skills to solve practical problems and deal with high‑stress situations while maintaining a high quality of professionalism
• Organizational, time‑management, and resolution skills
• Ability to work collaboratively with other departments

Preferred Qualifications

• Some post‑high‑school education
• Knowledge of medical terminology
• Knowledge of third‑party payers, billing requirements, and reimbursement methods
• Prior experience in patient registration or a related healthcare field
• Advanced keyboard and computer skills
• Ability to communicate effectively in a second language such as Navajo or Spanish
• CHAA certification

Duties and Responsibilities

• Accurately obtain, input, scan, and distribute all necessary information related to a patient’s registration for inpatient, emergency, and outpatient services, to create and maintain an accurate medical record for the purpose of treatment and billing.
• Assign accurate MRNs, complete medical necessity and compliance checks for physicians.
• Ensure all scheduled patients are pre‑registered and pre‑register other patients when possible ( department goal: 95% of scheduled patients ).
• Provide accurate good‑faith estimates to self‑pay patients within established time limits, and estimates for insured patients of amounts likely due after insurance pays.
• Work closely with physician offices to obtain prior authorizations prior to the patient’s scheduled appointment.
• Verify the accuracy of information on all pre‑registered patients upon arrival and make appropriate corrections to the system to maintain accurate records.
• Ensure timely access to care by responding promptly to registration requests received by phone, fax or in person.
• Verify eligibility at the time of pre‑registration or registration according to policy ( department goal: 100% of inpatients, emergency, DSU patients and 100% of outpatients with certain insurances ).
• Follow managed‑care procedures to obtain authorizations for services, ensuring timely payment and minimizing denials.
• Explain all required forms to patients and obtain their signatures.
• Explain and distribute patient education documents such as “Important Message from Medicare,” “Patient Rights,” and “Notice of Privacy Practice.”
• Provide excellent customer service by greeting patients and responding to inquiries from patients, visitors, physicians, and vendors, and directing them to their destinations.
• Maintain an acceptable level of registration accuracy as defined by the department’s Quality Assurance goals.
• Go to patient rooms to complete registrations and obtain signatures on all required forms for direct admissions and/or when a form is missing.
• Maintain all department logs, reports, and records.
• Operate the telephone switchboard to relay incoming, outgoing, inter‑office, and code calls, as applicable.
• Attend monthly department meetings, in‑service training, and other meetings as required to maintain professional growth and comply with hospital policy.
• Implement SJRMC’s Service Standards (Safety, Courtesy, Effectiveness, and Stewardship) into daily work.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Physical Demands, Environmental Work Conditions, and Sensory Requirements

• Must be able to walk, sit, and stand for long periods of time.
• Ability to withstand frequent exposure to ill patients.
• May need to work alongside caregivers in stressful situations, such as emergency conditions of patients, angry or upset families involved in death, and/or graphic injuries.
• Vision and hearing acuity within normal range.