PHONE SUPPORT SPECIALIST
Department: Patient Services
Reports To: Patient Services Supervisor - Call Center
Job Location: 810 WH Smith Blvd Greenville, North Carolina 27834
Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8 am to 5 pm.
FLSA Status: Non-Exempt (Hourly)

ABOUT OUR ORGANIZATION

Orthopaedics East & Sports Medicine Center is Eastern North Carolina's premier orthopedic specialty practice, headquartered in Greenville. Our orthopedic surgeons - most of whom are fellowship-trained - along with our physician assistants, physical therapists, and occupational therapists, provide a variety of general and specialized operative and non-operative orthopedic services to meet the musculoskeletal needs of patients across Eastern North Carolina. Services include joint replacement, sports medicine, pediatric orthopedics, worker's compensation care, fracture care, regenerative medicine, bracing and casting, physical therapy, and on-site X-ray and MRI imaging. We have served as the preferred providers of orthopedic care for East Carolina University Athletics for more than 30 years.

Orthopaedics East offers a comprehensive benefits package. Full-Time employees are eligible for Medical, Vision, and Dental coverage, along with employer-provided Life, AD&D, Short-term, and Long-term insurance. Full-Time employees also receive paid holidays and a monthly accrual of paid time off (PTO), and eligible employees may participate in the Practice's 401(k) deferral program.

JOB PURPOSE

The Phone Support Specialist serves as the Practice's primary phone operator, handling incoming calls for patient appointments and completing medical records requests. This position is central to the patient's first contact with the Practice and to the accuracy of the scheduling and records information that supports each visit.

This position requires compliance with OrthoEast's compliance standards, including its Code of Conduct, Compliance Program, and policies and procedures. Such compliance will be an element required as part of the Phone Support Specialist's job duties and is considered during performance evaluations.

Employment begins with a 90-day probationary period, during which performance, attendance, and suitability for the position are evaluated. Completion of the probationary period does not change the at-will nature of employment, which may be ended by either the employee or the Practice at any time, with or without cause or notice.

DETAILED WORK ACTIVITIES

Call Handling and Scheduling

- Serve as the Practice's inbound and outbound call agents, answering incoming calls professionally and tasking the appropriate department or staff member.
- Make, verify, reschedule, and cancel patient appointments in accordance with Practice scheduling protocols.
- Request the insurance referrals required for scheduled appointments.
- Monitor provider schedules for appropriate booking and adherence to scheduling templates.
- Route messages appropriately.
- Task care teams and other individuals within the Practice as calls require, providing the detail needed for the receiving party to act.

Patient Accounts and Insurance

- Create new patient accounts and update existing accounts where possible, entering registration information accurately and attending to all system alerts.
- Verify existing registration information and correct inaccuracies.
- Create and update insurance sets and check eligibility.
- Keep each patient's preferred pharmacy updated in the record.
- Update patient addresses from returned mail daily.
- Document new patients on the Practice's referral tracker.
- Review upcoming patient encounters daily to confirm that the information needed for each visit is on file.

Patient Portal and Messaging

- Work with patients to set up and enable the patient portal, and send portal invitations.
- Place notes on the patient portal for patients when necessary.
- Respond to patient messages received through the Practice's secure messaging platform, as assigned.
- Respond to tasks routed from throughout the Practice, as assigned.

Patient Balances

- Collect patient payments by telephone and advise patients of balances, fees, and unallocated balances, in accordance with Practice payment-handling procedures.
- Refer questions regarding coding, claim status, insurance disputes, and financial assistance to the Revenue Cycle department or the Financial Counselor.

Medical Records and Documentation

-Request reports and records from outside providers and facilities for inclusion in the patient chart.
- Retrieve archived patient records as needed.
- Provide work or school notes to patients on request, confirming the date the patient was seen, excluding Worker's Compensation patients.
- Fax orders, notes, and related documentation to any facility the Practice has referred to or received a referral from, confirming the recipient and destination number before transmitting and re-sending on request.

Language Assistance

- Spanish-speaking Phone Support Specialists are designated as qualified bilingual staff and provide oral language assistance to Spanish-speaking patients within the scope of this role's duties, communicating effectively, accurately, and impartially and maintaining patient confidentiality.
- Route requests for interpretation that fall outside the scope of this role, including clinical discussions and informed consent, to a qualified interpreter in accordance with the Practice's language assistance procedures.

Additional Duties

- Train new staff on phone, scheduling, account, and records procedures.
- Other duties as assigned.

WORK CONTENT

Work Environment

This is a full-time, on-site role at the Practice's Greenville, North Carolina clinic, working within the Patient Services department. Work is performed at a workstation and involves sustained telephone and computer use throughout the day, with frequent contact with patients, providers, clinical staff, insurance carriers, and outside offices including hospitals, physical therapy practices, and primary care providers.

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 accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

- The employee is frequently required to sit, talk, hear, and use hands and fingers to operate and handle keyboards and controls.
- The employee is occasionally required to walk and reach with hands and arms.
- The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.
- Must be able to receive and respond to detailed verbal and written instructions.

SKILLS

Basic Skills

- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to complex technical problems.
- Systems Thinking - Understanding how components of the platform interact and how changes in one area affect overall outcomes, reliability, and security.
- Ownership & Accountability - Taking initiative on features and incidents end-to-end, monitoring and assessing one's own work, and taking corrective action without prompting.
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to stakeholders and teammates, understanding requirements being conveyed, and asking clarifying questions as appropriate.
- Reading & Writing Comprehension - Understanding and producing clear technical and work-related documentation.

KNOWLEDGE

Education and Experience

Required:

- Minimum of one year of medical scheduling experience.
- Ability to communicate effectively and professionally with providers, patients, and coworkers.
- Strong customer service background and skills.
- Strong computer skills.
- Demonstrated problem-solving skills.
- Demonstrated flexibility as a team member.
- Demonstrated reliability and dependability.

Preferred:

- Previous call center experience in a medical office setting.
- Experience in an orthopedic or specialty practice.
- Experience with an electronic medical record (EMR) or practice management system.
- Knowledge of medical terminology.

JOB REQUIREMENTS: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed must be representative of the knowledge, skills, minimum education, training, licensure, experience, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Orthopaedics East & Sports Medicine Center is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with applicable law.