At Northwestern Medicine, every patient interaction makes a difference in cultivating a positive workplace. This patient-first approach is what sets us apart as a leader in the healthcare industry. As an integral part of our team, you'll have the opportunity to join our quest for better healthcare, no matter where you work within the Northwestern Medicine system. At Northwestern Medicine, we pride ourselves on providing competitive benefits: from tuition reimbursement and loan forgiveness to 401(k) matching and lifecycle benefits, we take care of our employees. Ready to join our quest for better?

The Team Lead - Patient Accounting reflects the mission, vision, and values of NM, adheres to the organization’s Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with all relevant policies, procedures, guidelines, and all other regulatory and accreditation standards.

Responsibilities:

• Consistently exceed the productivity and quality standards established for the Team Lead position in resolving a high volume of phone calls, timely handling of patient concerns and correspondence, while maintaining the Patient First philosophy.
• Act as the first escalation point for conversations with difficult customers, customers who request a supervisor or manager, and customers with complex issues who ask for information that requires in-depth knowledge; recommend corrective services to respond to customer complaints.
• Assist the Patient Accounting Operational Coordinator in the management of people, processes and projects to implement the overall strategies and/or achieve the goals of the Patient Accounting department. Commitment to team development, communication and quality improvement throughout the Patient Accounting process.
• Responsible for providing feedback and mentoring/training for new staff and staff who are not meeting productivity standards.
• Responsible for education and enhancement of customer service to external and internal customers.
•  Responsible for maintaining an up-to-date schedule of all staff and phone schedules. Attend training and seminars as assigned and approved by the Patient Accounting Operational Coordinator.
• Work to continually improve processes; ensure timeliness of interactions with patients to improve patient satisfaction and that staff are meeting productivity and quality metrics.
• Receive and direct the public, in person or by telephone, in a professional and courteous manner.
• Answer patient inquiries with the objective of resolving the patient issue in one call or direct inquiries to the appropriate representative or department if the issue cannot be immediately resolved.
• Enter appropriate documentation of all account activity.
• Provide clerical support to the management and supervisory staff as needed.
• Manage early-out vendor return accounts as outlined in the NMHC Self-Pay Collection Procedure.
• Coordinate communication with early-out vendor staff regarding patient accounts, concerns, and complaints as outlined in the NMHC Self-Pay Collection Procedure.
• Enter appropriate documentation of all new insurance information to restart the billing and follow-up cycle as appropriate.
• Respond to patient, payor, and employee inquiries regarding hospital and professional balances, financial assistance applications, and both hospital and clinics visits as they relate to the SBO.
• Seamlessly transition patient calls to and from early out vendor staff as required.
• Provide individual contribution to the overall team effort of achieving the department accounts receivable goal. Identify opportunities for customer, system and process improvement and submit to management.
• Utilize assigned menus and pathways in the hospital mainframe system and report software application problems to the appropriate supervisor.
• Utilize assigned menus and pathways in external software applications and report software application problems to the appropriate supervisor.
• Utilize assigned computer hardware and report hardware problems to the appropriate supervisor.
• Participate in the testing for assigned software applications, including verification of field integrity.
• Assist the Patient Accounting Operational Coordinator with special projects and other duties as assigned, as necessary.

Competencies:

• Independent decision making to resolve patient issues with minimal error.
• Demonstrate excellent customer service through oral and written communication in providing assistance/expertise to patients, authorized guarantors, and other external and internal contacts. Practice HIPAA privacy standards and ensure compliance with patient health information privacy practices.
• Demonstrate proficient use of systems and execution of processes in all areas of responsibilities.
• Follow the NMHC general Policy and Procedures, the Department’s Policy and Procedures, and any Emergency Preparedness Procedures.
• Follow Joint Commission and outside regulatory agencies¿ mandated rules and procedures.
• Demonstrate and maintain competency as required for job title and the unit/area(s) of assignment.
• Ability to: Learn quickly and meet continuous timelines. Exhibit behaviors consistent with principles of excellent service. Exhibit behaviors consistent with standards of performance improvement and NMHC values.

Required:

• Two-to-four years of college, or equivalent work experience.
• Three-to-five years of progressive work experience in a hospital/ physician billing or SBO environment.
• Knowledge of HIPAA standards.
• Able to effectively lead a team composed of direct and indirect reporting relationships.
• Ability to perform mathematical calculations.
• Excellent communication skills when dealing with patients, families, public, co-workers, and professional offices.
• Intermediate knowledge of medical terminology and billing practices.
• Extensive experience and knowledge of PC applications, including Microsoft Office and Excel.

Preferred:

• Two or more years of college or college degree.
• Call center or telephone work experience.
• Knowledge of Epic Systems.
• Four (4) years progressive work experience in a hospital/ physician billing or SBO environment.
• Detail-oriented, good organizational skills, and ability to be self-directed.
• Strong time management skills, managing multiple priorities and a heavy workload in a high-stress atmosphere.
• Flexibility to perform other tasks as needed in an active work environment with changing work needs.
• High-level problem solving, analytical, and investigational skills.
• Excellent internal/external customer service skills.
• Excellent communication skills to include oral and written comprehension and expression

Northwestern Medicine is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of age, sex, race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation or any other protected status.