PATIENT ACCESS COORDINATOR

Job DetailsJob Location: Pleasanton, CA 94588Position Type: Full TimeSalary Range: $28.00 - $30.00 HourlyCompany Description:  Axis Community Health, a nonprofit established in 1972, provides comprehensive healthcare services to over 15,000 individuals across all age groups in the Tri-Valley area. The mission of Axis Community Health is to provide quality, affordable, accessible and compassionate health care services that promote the well-being of all members of the community.   Our mission is rooted in delivering high-quality patient care, encompassing primary healthcare, mental health support, and dental services. We are committed to ensuring access to essential healthcare services for every member of our community, irrespective of financial status, living situation, or insurance coverage.   Job Summary: The Patient Access Coordinator is responsible for optimizing provider schedules across all clinical departments by proactively filling open appointment slots, reducing missed opportunities, and improving patient access to care. This position serves as a critical link between patients, clinical teams, operations leadership, and quality improvement initiatives. The Patient Access Coordinator reviews provider schedules, identifies available appointment capacity, analyzes patient records and care gaps, and matches patients with appropriate visit types based on clinical need, scheduling rules, provider privileges, and organizational policies. The role focuses on improving schedule utilization, reducing no-show rates, increasing patient engagement, supporting quality performance measures, and ensuring patients receive timely access to care. The Patient Access Coordinator utilizes OCHIN Epic and other reporting tools to monitor access metrics, identify barriers to care, and implement strategies that improve both operational efficiency and patient outcomes.    Qualifications: High school diploma or equivalent is required. An associate or bachelor's degree in healthcare administration, public health, business, or related field is preferred.  Minimum of one (1) year in a department lead position or a minimum of four (4) years of healthcare scheduling, patient access, care coordination, referral management, population health, or related healthcare operations experience preferred.  Advanced knowledge of healthcare scheduling workflows and appointment management practices. Demonstrated proficiency with OCHIN Epic, including scheduling modules, reporting tools, registries, work queues, and patient outreach workflows.  Strong understanding of visit types, provider privileges, scheduling templates, and appointment scheduling rules.  Knowledge of Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) operations is preferred.  Experience working with quality measures, gap-in-care reports, population health initiatives, and value-based care programs preferred.  Knowledge of insurance eligibility verification processes, including Medi-Cal, Medicare, commercial insurance, managed care plans, and other payer requirements.  Ability to analyze patient records and determine appropriate appointment opportunities based on clinical needs and scheduling guidelines.  Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and large patient outreach campaigns simultaneously.  Excellent customer service and patient engagement skills.  Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to effectively educate and motivate patients.  Ability to build rapport with patients and address concerns regarding access to care.  Experience utilizing data and performance metrics to drive operational improvements.  Knowledge of HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) regulations and patient confidentiality requirements. Ability to identify barriers to care and recommend practical solutions.  Bilingual language skills preferred based on patient population needs.  Strong analytical, employee relations, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills. Excellent writing, business communication, editing, and proofreading skills. Ability to interact effectively and in a supportive manner with persons of all backgrounds. Proactive, self-motivated and able to work independently while maintaining effective collaboration with interdisciplinary teams and the ability to exercise sound independent judgment. Ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality and a professional demeanor and must positively represent the organization at all times. Ability to establish and maintain positive and professional working relationships. Ability to organize and set priorities and be able to adjust priorities quickly as circumstances dictate. Must be able to be at work regularly and on time. Must be a dynamic self-starter with demonstrated ability to work independently or in a group setting. A can-do attitude with attention to detail. Ability to type a minimum of 35 WPM with minimal errors. Must have good computer skills using Microsoft Office and the ability to use Axis departmental systems and reporting tools. Must be able to use office equipment (i.e. copier, fax, etc.).   Essential Duties/Responsibilities: Monitor provider schedules across all departments to identify and fill open appointment slots.  Review patient charts, care gaps, and visit history to determine appropriate appointment opportunities and visit types.  Work from quality and population health reports to identify patients due for preventive services, chronic disease management visits, annual wellness visits, screenings, immunizations, and other quality-related services.  Collaborate with clinical, operational, and quality improvement teams to align scheduling efforts with organizational goals and performance metrics.  Identify and recover missed opportunities resulting from cancellations, no-shows, provider schedule changes, and unused appointment capacity.  Develop and implement strategies to reduce no-show rates and address barriers to care access.  Engage patients through phone, text, patient portal, and other communication channels to educate them about available services and the importance of follow-up care.  Answer patient questions regarding appointment types, scheduling options, insurance eligibility, provider availability, and clinic services.  Ensure appointments are scheduled according to provider privileges, department protocols, scheduling rules, and organizational policies and procedures.  Verify insurance eligibility and coverage to ensure appointments are scheduled appropriately, and patients are informed of coverage requirements.  Utilize OCHIN Epic scheduling tools, reporting work queues, registries, and dashboards to identify scheduling opportunities and manage patient outreach activities.  Maintain accurate documentation of outreach efforts, scheduling activities, and patient interactions within the electronic health record.  Track, monitor, and report key performance indicators including schedule utilization, no-show rates, fill rates, access metrics, quality measure completion rates, and missed opportunities.  Generate reports and provide data analysis to support operational decision-making and continuous improvement efforts.  Participate in access improvement initiatives, workflow redesign projects, and patient engagement strategies.  Collaborate with department leaders to identify trends impacting patient access and recommend process improvements.  Support organizational efforts to improve patient satisfaction, continuity of care, quality outcomes, and operational efficiency.  Assist with training and mentoring staff on scheduling workflows, access optimization strategies, and best practices as needed.  Maintain compliance with all organizational policies, HIPAA regulations, and applicable federal and state requirements.  Participate in staff meetings, attend other meeting and training events as assigned. May be required to perform other related duties, responsibilities and special projects as assigned.   Benefits: Employer paid health, dental, and vision benefits to the employee. Option to participate in a 403(B) retirement plan with employer matching contribution. Partial educational reimbursement. 12 paid holidays. Accrued paid time off with each pay period.  Employee discount programs. Colleague Referral Bonus Program.   Connect with Axis: Company Page: https://www.axishealth.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/axiscommunityhealth  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/axis-community-health Annual Gratitude Report: https://issuu.com/axiscommunityhealth/docs/gratitudereport2024   Physical, Cognitive, and Environmental Working Conditions: Work is normally performed in a typical clinic office work environment (and, in some cases, telecommuting sites). The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to perform the essential functions of this job successfully. Reasonable accommodations can be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position if the accommodation request does not cause an undue hardship.   Physical: Occasionally required to carry/lift/push/pull/move up to 20lbs. Frequently required to perform moderately difficult manipulative tasks such as typing, writing, reaching over the shoulder, reaching over the head, reaching outward, sitting, walking on various surfaces, standing, and bending. Occasional travel to other Axis health centers and other occasional travel will be required.    Equipment: Frequently required to use repetitive motion of hands and feet to operate a computer keyboard, telephone, copier, and other office equipment for extended periods.    Sensory: Frequently required to read documents, written reports, and signage. Must be able to distinguish normal sounds with some background noise, as in answering the phone, interacting with staff etc. Must be able to speak clearly, understand normal communication, and be understood. Must be able to see clearly and have the ability to judge distances and spatial relationships to see objects where and as they actually are.   Cognitive: Must be able to analyze the information being received, count accurately, concentrate and focus on the given task, summarize the information being received, accurately interpret written data, synthesize information from multiple sources, write summaries as needed, interpret written or verbal instructions, and recognize social or professional behavioral cues.   Environmental Conditions: Frequent exposure to varied office (medical clinic/office) environments. Rare exposure to dust and loud noises.    Disclaimer: This job post is not necessarily an exhaustive list of all essential responsibilities, skills, tasks, or requirements associated with this position. While this is intended to be an accurate reflection of the position posted, Axis Community Health reserves the right to modify or change the requirements of the job based on business necessity.    Key Search: Patient Access Coordinator, Patient Services Coordinator, Patient Registration Coordinator, Patient Intake Coordinator, Access Services Coordinator, Care Access Coordinator, Patient Experience Coordinator, Scheduling an Access Coordinator, Health Access Specialist, Patient Support, Member Services, Clinic Access Representative, EPIC, EHR, #LI-Onsite Qualifications