Access Center Representative I

About the Role

The Access Center Representative I acts as the first point of contact for callers on behalf of the NYU Faculty Group Practice (FGP) physician practices. This role involves scheduling patient appointments and addressing inquiries, concerns, and requests via inbound calls. The representative will foster loyalty and confidence by anticipating patient needs, demonstrating genuine interest, and providing accurate and efficient service. The position requires eliciting patient information and adhering to established protocols to schedule appointments for specialized services, ensuring patient needs are met and promoting an optimal patient experience. Effective relationships with patients and callers will be established and maintained through active listening, empathy, rapport, courtesy, and professionalism.

Key Responsibilities

• Respond to multi-channel inquiries from patients, physicians, employees, and other callers regarding appointments, referrals, provider messages, and services within the Patient Access Center in accordance with established NYU FGP guidelines.
• Utilize physician protocols to schedule appointments for NYU FGP specialties and meet established Patient Access Center performance goals.
• Research providers and practices throughout the NYULH network to best meet patient needs.
• Manage conversations with a high level of sensitivity and use good judgment when determining and documenting appropriate disposition.
• Utilize NYU FGP Healthcare systems, Access Center applications, reference materials, and websites to enter patient information, answer patient questions, verify insurance, and perform specific scheduling functions.
• During all interactions, display characteristics of inquiry, empathy, courtesy, and respect.
• Adhere to Patient Access Center call metrics and goals.
• Complete call processing in an efficient manner, remain aware of call volumes, and work as part of the team to handle call volumes.
• Proactively keep up-to-date on all communications.
• Participate in multidisciplinary quality and service improvement teams as appropriate.
• Demonstrate regular, consistent, and punctual attendance.
• Adhere to Patient Access Center policies and procedures.
• Serve as an NYU Langone Health Faculty Group Practice Brand Ambassador by upholding the NYULH mission, vision, and values and promoting excellence in the patient experience during every encounter.
• Drive consistency in every patient and colleague encounter by embodying the core principles of the FGP Service Strategy CARES (Connect, Align, Respond, Ensure, and Sign-Off).
• Greet patients warmly and professionally, stating name and role, and clearly communicate each step of the care/interaction as appropriate.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues and site management to ensure a positive experience and timely resolution for all patient interactions and inquiries, whether in person, by phone, or via electronic messaging.
• Proactively anticipate patient needs and participate in service recovery by applying the LEARN model (Listen, Empathize, Apologize, Resolve, Notify), and escalate to leadership as appropriate.
• Share ideas or observed areas of opportunity to improve patient experience and patient access with appropriate leadership (e.g., ways to optimize provider schedules, how to minimize delays, increase employee engagement).
• Partner with Patient Access Center and Central Billing Office team members to support collaboration and promote a positive patient experience.
• Take a proactive approach in ensuring that practice staff are fully versed in the Access Agreement gold standard principles.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• High School diploma or equivalent.
• 6 months+ Contact Center or Customer Service related experience or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience working within an access/contact center, hospital, clinic, or medical office scheduling environment is highly preferred.
• Ability to effectively communicate with all levels of the organization.