PCC CALL CENTER - Referral & Patient Access Coordinator

Chicago ENT; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/dental benefits

401(k) match

Vacation time

Weekends off

Job summary

Chicago ENT is seeking a Referral & Patient Access Coordinator to proactively manage inbound patient referrals and improve access to care. You will contact referred patients, identify earliest appointment availability, and follow up to maximize referral conversion and practice growth.

The role collaborates with Call Center Lead, Patient Care Coordinators, Front Office, clinical teams, and providers to resolve scheduling barriers and ensure timely access. Travel may be required between locations.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• Ability to work within an EMR database and navigate a Windows environment.
• Strong organizational and multitasking abilities.
• Clear verbal and written communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage inbound referrals from receipt through resolution to ensure timely handling.
• Proactively contact referred patients to schedule appointments and follow up as needed.
• Review referrals to identify provider, location, and scheduling requirements.
• Identify earliest appointment availability across providers and locations.
• Monitor availability, cancellations, and open slots to optimize capacity.
• Maintain referral, waitlist, and scheduling documentation in systems.
• Escalate scheduling barriers and collaborate with care teams to resolve issues.

Skills

Referral coordination

Scheduling

EMR navigation

Communication

Organization

Education

High school diploma

Tools

EMR software

Windows OS

Job description

PCC CALL CENTER - Referral & Patient Access Coordinator

The Referral & Patient Access Coordinator is responsible for proactively managing inbound patient referrals to improve patient access, increase referral conversion, and support practice growth. This role works referrals through completion by contacting patients, identifying the earliest appropriate appointment availability, conducting follow-up outreach, and helping fill available provider capacity.

The Coordinator works closely with the Call Center Lead, Patient Care Coordinators, Front Office, clinical teams, and providers to resolve referral and scheduling barriers and ensure patients are connected to care as quickly and appropriately as possible. Performance will be measured against established referral conversion, new patient access, and practice growth goals.

Travel may be required to any Chicago ENT/Chicago Sleep Center or affiliated location.

This role will report to the Call Center Lead, with indirect reporting to the Practice Manager.

WORK LOCATION

Primary office location will be Halsted. This position may work from other Chicago ENT/Chicago Sleep Center locations as needed based on operational needs and capacity.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Manage inbound referrals from receipt through resolution, ensuring referrals are addressed timely and accurately.
• Proactively contact referred patients to schedule appointments and conduct follow-up outreach when patients are not reached or do not initially schedule.
• Review referrals to identify the appropriate provider, location, appointment type, and scheduling requirements.
• Identify the earliest appropriate appointment availability across providers and locations to improve new patient access.
• Monitor provider availability, cancellations, and open appointments to identify opportunities to schedule referred patients sooner and help utilize available capacity.
• Maintain and work referral, waitlist, and short-notice patient lists to support timely scheduling and fill available appointments.
• Track referrals that remain unscheduled and ensure appropriate follow-up is completed before the referral is closed or otherwise dispositioned.
• Identify and resolve scheduling barriers, including missing information, referral requirements, appointment availability, or other issues preventing the patient from being scheduled.
• Coordinate with the Call Center Lead, Patient Care Coordinators, Front Office, clinical teams, and providers as needed to resolve referral and scheduling questions.
• Maintain accurate documentation of referral status, patient outreach, scheduling activity, and outcomes within the appropriate systems.
• Identify trends or barriers affecting referral conversion and patient access and escalates opportunities for improvement to the Call Center Lead.
• Meet established performance expectations related to referral response time, referral conversion, new patient scheduling, patient access, and other assigned metrics.
• Support Call Center functions as needed and as referral workload allows, including assisting with patient calls, scheduling, and other assigned Call Center responsibilities.
• Work closely with Marketing to coordinate referral follow-up efforts and maintain an established referral outreach cadence.
• Other duties as individually assigned.

PERFORMANCE MEASURES

Performance expectations for this role may include, but are not limited to:

• Referral response time
• Percentage of referrals contacted within established timeframe
• Referral-to-appointment conversion rate
• New patient appointments scheduled from referrals
• New patient appointments completed from referrals
• Average time from referral receipt to scheduled appointment
• Percentage of referrals with completed follow-up and final disposition
• Successful utilization of cancellations and earlier appointment availability for referred patients
• Scheduling accuracy and adherence to established scheduling protocols
• Achievement of established monthly and quarterly referral and new patient access goals

Performance measures and targets may be adjusted based on provider availability, clinical capacity, seasonality, practice needs, and other operational factors.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• High school diploma or equivalent required
• Ability to work within an EMR database and navigate through a Windows environment required
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple provider schedules, priorities, and follow-up activities simultaneously
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to work independently, identify opportunities, and take appropriate action without requiring individual direction for each scheduling need
• Ability to work effectively in a performance-driven environment with measurable goals and expectations

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 2+ years of experience in healthcare scheduling, patient access, medical office operations, call center operations, or a related healthcare setting
• Experience working with provider schedules, appointment templates, referrals, and patient access workflows
• Experience working in an ENT, Sleep, or specialty medical practice
• Experience reviewing scheduling, utilization, or patient access data
• Bilingual in English and Spanish (speaking, writing, and comprehension)

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY

This position has no supervisory responsibility.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS

None.

INCENTIVE COMPENSATION

This position may be eligible for performance-based incentive compensation in addition to base compensation.

Incentive eligibility and payout may be based on established performance measures, which may include new patient appointments completed, provider schedule utilization, successful backfilling of open appointments, patient access goals, provider visit volume, and/or overall practice performance.

Specific performance targets, eligibility requirements, measurement periods, and incentive payouts will be established and communicated separately by practice leadership.

Chicago ENT is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We offer competitive salaries and benefits, including medical/dental, life and disability coverage, generous vision benefits, a 401(k) plan with a match, vacation time, and weekends and major holidays off.