Referral Specialist

Description

CORE VALUES 

The core values of Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, Inc. (CHC/SEK) are dignity and stewardship. Each staff member is expected to perform their job duties in a way that preserves dignity for our patients and maintains good stewardship of CHC/SEK’s resources. 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF POSITION

This position is part of the health information team providing support to patients and healthcare providers throughout the organization. The Referral Specialist I is responsible for ensuring that referrals to external providers are completed in a courteous, efficient, accurate, and timely manner with appropriate documentation to help ensure continuity of care for patients and referring providers. The Referral Specialist I also reviews incoming personal health information to aggregate vital information and enter the information into the electronic health record in a structured format to support high quality patient care.  

Requirements

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

• Schedules and confirms patient consultation and referral appointments with specialists appropriate for the patient’s needs and resources. Example: Evaluates the patients financial, accessibility, and medical needs and collaborates with the patient to determine where their needs can be best met for specialty care. 
• Accurately and thoroughly documents referrals within the Electronic Health Record. Example: Documents all steps involved with the referral process in the electronic referral. This includes documenting when an appointment was scheduled, when a patient was notified or an attempt to notify was made, and every attempt to collect records. 
• Tracks referrals to assure documentation is obtained to support continuation of care. Example: Attaches obtained specialty records to the referral and sends the information to the referring provider for review. 
• Schedules follow-up appointments, and works with consulting providers and patients to assure that appointments are kept. Example: Works with the patient to reschedule appointments that are missed or needs rescheduled. 
• Communicates personal health information effectively with external organizations, on behalf of patients and providers, to support continuation of care. Example: Sends all appropriate patient records along with the referral to specialty facilities. 
• Organizes and aggregates all incoming patient health information pertinent to our standard quality measures to assist in record completion that will lead to high quality patient care. Example: Reviews all incoming patient health information for standard screening results/reports and creates historical orders to attach the results to. This function provides structured personal health information within the electronic health record and promotes high quality patient care. 

QUALIFICATIONS

• High school diploma or GED.
• At least 1 year of experience in healthcare setting preferred. 
• Proficient in Microsoft. 

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Ability to communicate in a professional, courteous and respectful when interacting with staff, external organizations, patients and family members.
• Familiarity with healthcare – especially medical - terminology
• Social and cultural sensitivity appropriate to ethnically and economically diverse patient-and employee-base.
• Must be organized and able to manage/prioritize tasks to meet deadlines, adapts to change in a positive manner, able to work as a part of a team.
• Communicates through appropriate channels. Use proper chain of command for complaints.
• Must be computer literate, especially with Microsoft Office products and be proficient with the Electronic Health Record software.
• Must be able to maintain good inter-personal relationship with co-workers and other members of the health care team.
• Provide customer service in accordance to the organization’s mission.
• Maintain patient confidentiality in accordance to organization’s policy and procedure and HIPAA requirements.

WORKING CONDITIONS

While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel and talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to stand and walk. The employee must regularly lift and /or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and peripheral vision. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.