About Our Family:
Established in 1978, Alcona Health Center (AHC) is a non-profit, Federally Qualified Health Center dedicated to making a lasting impact in the Northern MI communities we serve, offering medical, behavioral health, dental and pharmacy services. As a member of the AHC family, you will join a team of over 300 coworkers, all devoted to providing quality health care to all residents of our communities, regardless of their ability to pay.
Your Valued Contributions:
Welcomes and assists patients, their families and visitors entering the health center. Answers questions, and provides information creating an atmosphere that is caring, yet efficient. Operates the phone system to relay incoming, outgoing, and interoffice calls, as well as schedules appointments for multiple sites. Maintains health records according to established health center procedures. Assists providers in the administration of patient care in assigned clinical areas. Assists in examinations, procedures, diagnostic studies, and treatment of patients under direction of a Medical Provider. Performs general administrative duties in accordance with CLIA, NCQA, PCMH, government standards and company policies and procedures.
Clerical
- Checks patients in and out of the health centers.
- Greets visitors, determines nature of business, and refers visitors to appropriate personnel.
- Maintains waiting room safety and informs Safety Coordinator.
- Enters new patient data into EHR, verifying insurance and assuring appropriate authorizations have been received.
- Upon check out, verifies accuracy of providers’ charges and accepts payments.
- Processes billings and payments.
- If applicable, prepares all nursing home billings for monthly visits and responsible for return of slips from providers.
- Matches daily batch report to schedule ensuring all patients seen have a corresponding charge.
- Answer patient questions regarding accounts and documents all conversations regarding account in notes. Makes all necessary corrections, refiles, or postings in Receivable module as needed.
- Verifies and balances all entries at the end of day by printing the daily batch report and deposit slip
- Verifies accuracy of the daily deposit and sends in deposit bag to designate site at the end of the day
- Maintains health records according to established health center procedures.
- Reviews medical records for completeness and accuracy, verifying with health personnel as necessary.
- Maintains indexes within electronic health record and storage and retrieval systems.
- Retrieves health records as requested.
- Trains clerical staff in health record processing activities.
- Schedules patient appointments.
- Contacts patients regarding rescheduling and appointment reminders.
- Confirms demographic information.
- Sends new patient enrollment packets to patients prior to first appointment.
- Sends no-show letters to patients, referring patients to AHC care and case managers as appropriate.
- Assists clinic staff with tasks within scope of practice, such as processing referrals, processing collection issues, and setting up medical consultations.
- Reschedules patient load for providers.
- Schedules follow-up appointments for patients upon checkout.
- Operates telephone and paging system.
- Answers telephone and responds to inquiry by directing caller to appropriate personnel.
- Operates paging system to relay in-house announcements or call individuals to the phone.
- Makes collections calls as required.
Clinical
- Supports and assists clinical providers and professionals.
- Participate in huddles with provider and care team. Identify scheduling opportunities, determine special needs for patients arriving that clinic day, identify patients who need care outside of their scheduled visit, and those with missed appointments needing rescheduling.
- Screen and respond to patient phone messages in a timely manner according to health center guidelines, collaborate with provider, act on provider response, and communicate with patient; document task communications in EMR.
- Provide complete patient assessment, including consistently and accurately gathering information such as vital signs and pre-examination procedures. This also involves the assessment of injuries or symptoms, learning about past medical problems of the patient and other pertinent facts the provider needs to identify and treat the medical problem.
- Accurately and consistently document data and assessments in the patient record. May use a computer system and information technology to ensure standard documentation, coding, and completion as required by law and policy.
- Reconciles patient’s medications and allergies at every visit. Adds medications to the medication module, discontinues medications from the medication module with provider’s knowledge and renews medications per provider orders. Updates allergy list per patient self–report, witnessed reaction or verified documentation. Ensures medication dates are updated to match the current year.
- Within scope of practice and direction of the provider, assist in all aspects of patient consultation, treatment, procedures, and follow-up care.
- Execute medical regimens, including MSS workflow and monitoring inventory, and nursing interventions, including tracking patient orders, as appropriate for the setting and their competency.
- Maintain the cleanliness and general appearance of work, examination, and treatment areas; clean, disinfect, sterilize, and maintain equipment and instruments following universal precautions, infection control and hazardous waste removal practices.
- In collaboration with the provider, provide patient health counseling and instruction.
- Maintains a general understanding of UDS measures, MQIC guidelines, HEDIS measures, BCBS and NCQA PCMH standards. Utilizes appropriate resources to guide practice, i.e., Lippincott manual, MQIC guidelines, Elsevier, etc.
- Perform routine medical tasks within the scope of license:
- Administers individual nursing care, independently and skillfully applying both simple and complex techniques and processes that are specific to the needs of the patient including I.V. catheter insertion, phlebotomy, electrocardiograms, urinalysis, pregnancy testing and laboratory tests, and other testing as directed by the medical provider.
- Skillfully and competently prepare and administer medications, immunizations, and injections as directed by the medical provider. Understands autoclave use, consistently cleans, and sterilizes equipment.
- Draw, prepare designated lab work and/or specimens as directed by provider.
- Perform designated diagnostic tests as directed by provider.
- Recognizes and reacts effectively to emergency situations, seeks assistance, and intervenes appropriately and within scope of practice. Notifies the appropriate people in the event of a medical emergency.
- Provides detailed patient education to patient and family members i.e., use of a nebulizer, giving an injection, dressing a wound, etc. following prescribed teaching plans.
- General Tasks
- Answers telephones, takes messages, schedules appointments, tests, or procedures, arranges referrals, and performs other administrative duties to meet the needs of patients, co-workers, and the department. Staff telephone messages will be checked at least twice daily, and calls returned same day. Work email will be checked daily.
- Initiates communication with patient and family to determine individual needs of patients, families, and significant others.
- Recognizes limitations and initiates communication with co-workers and colleagues to share and exchange ideas and information about related activities and needs.
- Initiates contact with new employees and students assessing level of competency and helping to develop their skills and knowledge.
- Ensures timely completion of prior authorization forms according to the patient’s insurance for medications, testing and referrals.
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