Job Description

Department Overview

The OHSU Digestive Health Center offers patients an interdisciplinary team approach to the prevention, detection, and treatment of digestive disorders. Our teams blend clinical expertise with research advances to achieve the best possible care and outcomes. The team includes patients, their referring physicians, and a wide range of OHSU specialists.

Coordinates and schedules surgeries and clinic appointments for the Division of General Surgery. Works with clinical teams to assist new and established patients with coordinating internal and external appointments. Maintains a master surgery schedule for both the OR and clinic procedures. Schedules OR time with surgery scheduling office and schedules admitting reservations with the Hospital Admitting Office. Coordinates pre-op needs with patients and physicians prior to surgery date. Informs administrative and physician staff about prior authorizations and prepayments. Assist in gathering and/or verifying patient information including demographics, insurance coverage, and financial status. Enter all information accurately into Epic. Follow-up on pending authorizations for upcoming surgeries. Arrange and order associated clinical, diagnostic, or laboratory services when necessary. Direct patients to appropriate providers for other care issues. Functions as liaison between General Surgery and other Department of Surgery divisions and OHSU Departments – this involves coordinating the scheduling of surgery.

Function/Duties of Position

• Coordinates and schedules clinic appointments and surgeries for the Division of General Surgery. Work from the clinic and surgery scheduling workqueues to schedule patients for consultations, office visits, surgeries, and post op appointments. Maintains a master surgery schedule for both the OR and clinic procedures. Schedules OR time with surgery scheduling office and schedules admitting reservations with the Hospital Admitting Office. Coordinates pre-op needs with patients and physicians prior to surgery date. Informs administrative and physician staff about prior authorizations and prepayments. Assist in gathering and/or verifying patient information including demographics, insurance coverage, and financial status. Enter all information accurately into Epic. Follow-up on pending authorizations for upcoming surgeries. Arrange and order associated clinical, diagnostic, or laboratory services when necessary. Direct patients to appropriate providers for other care issues. Functions as liaison between General Surgery and other Department of Surgery divisions and OHSU Departments – this involves coordinating the scheduling of surgery.
• Obtains clinic referral / authorization and prior approvals for surgery as needed. Screens incoming patient referrals and interviews the patient and/or patient representative (family member, referring physician, etc.) as needed. Obtains all insurance and / or financial information prior to scheduling surgery date. Counsels' patient regarding the Division’s financial policies. Assures that the appropriate waivers are signed. Works closely with the primary care physician, clinic, and insurance company to obtain prior authorization. Assures that appropriate ICD10 and CPT codes are input on the surgery scheduling sheet as needed for prior authorization. Acts as liaison between patient, clinic, and the insurance company.
• Provides back-up/vacation coverage for the other PAS positions as needed (managed care, and surgery and clinic scheduling)
• Other clerical, clinic, and office duties as assigned by the PAS Supervisor or Division Manager.
• Personnel Coordination: Assists supervisor with interviewing, hiring and training PAS trainees, specialists and floats for surgery scheduling. Orients new employees and makes arrangements for training. Montiors timely completetion of training requirements. Assists supervisor in preparation of Standard work SOPs and Job breakdown sheets.
• Clinical and Administrative Operations Monitoring: Completes monthly confirmation of standard work audits on PAS group as part of clinic daily management systems. Recommends operations changes as needed. Investigates provider or staff complaints, developing corrective action plans and service recovery and manages up.
• Clinical Service Resource: Shares PAS expertise, especially pertaining to practice surgery coordination, to other division resources within the Department of Surgery and institution. Serves as expert in iQue and Epic functionality and other integrated care coordination.

Required Qualifications

• Two years of front-line clerical experience in a clinical setting with direct patient contact. Experience must include scheduling of appointments and may require experience obtaining managed care authorizations (dependent on position description). Preference given to candidates with knowledge of OHSU’s PAS policies and procedures, with completed PAS training and core competencies, and with previous PAS experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced Degree
• Experience with financial counseling and collecting co-insurance upfront from patients
• Epic, iQueue, Enterprise Imaging, Outlook, Box, Teams
• At least two years of recent experience with high volume direct patient contact in a fast-paced clinic environment. Previous working experience with high volume multi-line phones. Managed care experience, previous experience scheduling patient appointments and one year of surgery scheduling experience are required. Working knowledge and understanding of medical terminology. Regular and reliable attendance.
• Demonstrated excellent verbal and written communication skills; professional appearance, strong customer service skills. Must be flexible and a team player. Windows applications, on-line scheduling, and accurate spelling skills are required.

Additional Details

• M-F 8:00-4:30 pm work schedule, located in the Center for Health & Healing. Often busy, sometimes loud and stressful environment. Hybrid work schedule two days on campus.
• 80% sitting, 20% standing/walking

Why apply to OHSU?

We are Oregon's only public academic health center. In addition to caring for patients, we lead groundbreaking research. We also train the next generation of health care professionals. As Portland's largest employer, we give you opportunities to learn and advance in a system of hospitals and clinics across Oregon and Southwest Washington. All are welcome. OHSU welcomes people of all ages, ethnicities, genders, national origins, religions and sexual orientations. We are striving to build an anti-racist, multicultural institution and encourage people with diverse backgrounds to apply. To request reasonable accommodation, contact askhr@ohsu.edu