What does a patient access representative do?
A Patient Access Representative is the first point of contact of a patient in a hospital facility. Among the duties include the checking-in and out of a patient, gathering a patient's information for the Doctors and Nurses to use, communicates with the patient's family or caregivers, and processes insurance billing. Most of the time, A Patient Access Representative encounters the critically ill or injured which is why one must possess great communication skills and compassion.
Patient access representative responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real patient access representative resumes:
- Use EMR software to manage patient records and files; reinforce and uphold patient confidentiality as required by HIPPA and clinic.
- Conduct intensive screening of all Medicare, Medicaid and manage care patients for provider service eligibility.
- Educate eligible applicants about Medicaid manage care and how to access benefits in a manage care environment.
- Run internal reports to ensure ICD 9 and CPT procedure codes are accurate for billing for Medicare and Medicaid patients.
- Deliver quality customer service and compassion while obtaining demographic and financial data from patients seeking emergency medical services.
- Operate front desk check-in, preparation of charts, receive payments and balance books at the end of the day.
- Maintain accurate patient information within confidential patient accounts and electronic medical records in compliance with national HIPAA standards.
- Complete MSP questionnaire for Medicare patients.
- Tutor students in math and reading.
- Schedule patients for all out-patient services through MEDITECH scheduling module.
- Navigate Cerner program to properly arrive the patients in the system.
- Perform follow up on accounts, review denied claims and EOB's, handle patient calls.
- Create, maintain, and update help documents such as step-by-step guides, training manuals, and PowerPoint presentations.
- Relieve the hospital PBX switchboard operator's daily for lunch and breaks, which include paging overhead for codes and physicians.
- Provide departmental support as PBX operator.
Patient access representative skills and personality traits
We calculated that 20% of Patient Access Representatives are proficient in Patients, Customer Service, and Medical Terminology. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Computer skills, and Customer-service skills.
We break down the percentage of Patient Access Representatives that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 20%
Completed registration, insurance/benefit verification/certification for patients seeking emergency care.
- Customer Service, 13%
Obtain and complete accurate patient demographic information and provides an effective communication skills, promoting excellent customer service in every interaction.
- Medical Terminology, 9%
Perform secretarial/clerical duties, utilizing knowledge of medical terminology and hospital, clinic, and some laboratory procedures while maintaining HIPPA.
- Patient Care, 5%
Assisted team of managers, Radiology personnel and Director of Patient Care in a dynamic customer-oriented organization with heavy patient volume.
- Patient Registration, 5%
Reviewed and updated patient registration/demographic information.
- Insurance Verification, 4%
Performed insurance verification to determine insurance eligibility and authorization requirements.
Most patient access representatives use their skills in "patients," "customer service," and "medical terminology" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential patient access representative responsibilities here:
Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a patient access representative to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "customer service representatives must be able to provide clear information in writing, by phone, or in person." Patient access representatives often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "explained hospital policies and procedures to patients using outstanding communication skills. "
Customer-service skills. patient access representatives are also known for customer-service skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to patient access representative responsibilities, because "representatives help companies retain customers by professionally answering questions and helping to resolve complaints." A patient access representative resume example shows how customer-service skills is used in the workplace: "ensured confidentiality of all customer documents assisted patients with understanding hospital policies and obtained required signatures. "
Listening skills. patient access representative responsibilities often require "listening skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "representatives must listen carefully to ensure that they understand customers in order to assist them." This resume example shows what patient access representatives do with listening skills on a typical day: "processed financial assistance applications and communicated the outcome to the applicant. "
Patience. A commonly-found skill in patient access representative job descriptions, "patience" is essential to what patient access representatives do. Patient access representative responsibilities rely on this skill because "representatives should be patient and polite, especially when interacting with dissatisfied customers." You can also see how patient access representative duties rely on patience in this resume example: "advise patients and families of hospital policies and procedures with courtesy and patience. "
Problem-solving skills. Another skill commonly found on patient access representative job descriptions is "problem-solving skills." It can come up quite often in patient access representative duties, since "representatives must determine solutions to customers’ problems." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day patient access representative responsibilities: "discussed options for account resolution with responsible parties, verified insurance benefits and requested precertification. "
The three companies that hire the most patient access representatives are:
- Tenet Healthcare388 patient access representatives jobs
- Sanford Health253 patient access representatives jobs
- UnitedHealth Group238 patient access representatives jobs
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Compare different patient access representatives
Patient access representative vs. Scheduling specialist
A scheduling specialist is responsible for managing the department's meeting, conference, and event schedules, as well as negotiating with suppliers and third-party vendors for appointment and program needs. Scheduling specialists may also perform administrative and clerical duties as needed, especially on communicating with clients and informing them of meetings, and responding to their concerns and inquiries. A scheduling specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills, as well as knowledge of the data processing procedures to maintain the organization's database, updating clients' information, and tracking business transactions.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, patient access representative responsibilities require skills like "patient registration," "cycle management," "insurance cards," and "patient liability." Meanwhile a typical scheduling specialist has skills in areas such as "patient demographics," "scheduling procedures," "scheduling system," and "surgical procedures." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Scheduling specialists earn the highest salaries when working in the transportation industry, with an average yearly salary of $51,929. On the other hand, patient access representatives are paid more in the health care industry with an average salary of $33,319.The education levels that scheduling specialists earn slightly differ from patient access representatives. In particular, scheduling specialists are 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a patient access representative. Additionally, they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Patient access representative vs. Registration specialist
A registration specialist is responsible for managing patient information, including the verification of their insurance details and medical treatment schedules. Registration specialists assign admission rooms and processing payments for discharge. They also assist patients with the completion of medical forms by helping them fill-out papers with the most accurate information. A registration specialist performs administrative and clerical duties as needed, requiring them to have excellent data management skills to process information and provide the highest quality care services for the patients.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real patient access representative resumes. While patient access representative responsibilities can utilize skills like "physician orders," "cycle management," "patient liability," and "patient flow," registration specialists use skills like "basic math," "outbound calls," "emr," and "patient payments."
Registration specialists may earn a lower salary than patient access representatives, but registration specialists earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $30,648. On the other hand, patient access representatives receive higher pay in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $33,319.registration specialists earn similar levels of education than patient access representatives in general. They're 1.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Patient access representative vs. Registration coordinator
A registration coordinator is in charge of organizing and overseeing the registration procedures in programs and projects. Their duties primarily depend on their industry or place of employment. Still, it typically includes coordinating staff, managing the budgets and schedules, setting goals and guidelines, liaising with external parties, and developing strategies to optimize operations. Furthermore, a registration coordinator must monitor the progress of all efforts, resolve issues and concerns, and enforce the company's policies and regulations.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, patient access representatives are more likely to have skills like "physician orders," "cycle management," "insurance cards," and "insurance coverage." But a registration coordinator is more likely to have skills like "powerpoint," "patient demographics," "emr," and "corporate accounts."
When it comes to education, registration coordinators tend to earn similar degree levels compared to patient access representatives. In fact, they're 2.7% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Patient access representative vs. Patient service specialist
A patient service representative serves as a patient's primary point of contact in a hospital or clinic, ensuring accuracy and customer satisfaction. They are mainly responsible for gathering a patient's information and medical history, verifying insurance forms, managing accounts, and processing payments, arranging appointments, and even performing reminder calls and correspondence. There are also instances when a patient service representative must discuss situations to patients and their families, and even alert the doctors when a patient displays strange or unlikely behavior.
Types of patient access representative
Updated January 8, 2025
