Under the direct supervision of the Director, Mental Health Center, the registrar provides key office related and clerical functions including, reception, registration, billing preparation, revenue collection and patient information management.
II.GENERAL SUMMARY: Under the direct supervision of the Director, Mental Health Center, the registrar provides key office related and clerical functions including, reception, registration, billing preparation, revenue collection and patient information management.
In the performance of duties, the registrar complies with the State of Illinois Mental Health Code, Confidentiality Code and hospital and department policies and procedures. The registrar’s position requires competent, independent decision-making, time management skills, flexibility and collaboration with a multidisciplinary professional staff, other hospital departments and external agencies.
These duties are to be performed in a highly confidential manner, in accordance with the mission, values and behaviors of Trinity Health/Mercy Hospital and Medical Center. Employees are further expected to provide a high quality of care, service, and kindness toward all patients, staff, physicians, volunteers and guests.
Registration Duties:
- Complies with hospital’s registration policies and procedures and cash receipt submission deadline to assure accurate, timely revenue reports and collection.
- Verifies medical coverage and Mercy’s provider status. Collects fees and co-payments and provides receipts to maximize revenue collection at the point of service.
- Keeps up to date regarding Mercy’s contracts with payers.
- In collaboration with Patient Financial Services, provides charity allowance applications to patients with no medical coverage and tracks continued eligibility every six months.
Receptionist Duties:
- Observes Mercy’s Customer Service Standards in all interactions with patients/families/visitors, other hospital departments and outside agencies.
- Observes Mercy’s Telephone Protocol: Takes brief, accurate messages, noting date, time, name/agency of caller, telephone number and nature of the call. Offers caller the opportunity to leave a voicemail message.
- Screens calls for urgency. Refers urgent calls to the responsible therapist, doctor or intake worker if the therapist and doctor are not available.
- Informs clinical staff of the patient’s arrival by telephone, voicemail or written message.
- Provides reminder calls for doctors’ appointments.
Other Office Related Duties:
- Inventory: Responsible for maintaining par level supply inventory, assuring appropriate and cost-effective use of supplies.
- Environment of Care: Initiates Environmental Services, Engineering and Maintenance work orders and assures orders are implemented within a reasonable timeframe.
- Assistance to Clinical Staff: In a crisis situation where personal and/or environmental safety is at risk, alerts Public Safety (x2323 Code Gray), pages on-call psychiatrist and provides certification/petition paper as requested. Assists staff in relocating waiting room patients to a contained group room until the crisis is under control.
Information Management:
- Develops and implements information management systems, in consultation with the director, that promote efficient processing, storage and retrieval of necessary patient information.
- Purges closed charts and prepares them for Archives on an annual basis.
- Performs other duties as assigned.
JOB SPECIFICATIONS
A. REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:
Knowledge:
- High School Diploma or GED required
- One year of office related experience is preferred.
Skills:
- Experience with data entry to enter accurate registration information for claims preparation and scheduling psychiatrists.
- Experience with basic Microsoft Word and Excel skills to generate brief reports, memos and letters as needed.
- Good communication skill to articulate messages and ideas with clarity and conciseness, give direction and actively and respectfully listen to patients and staff.
Abilities:
- Ability to work independently, prioritize work load, meet deadlines and maintain flexibility in the discharge of duties.
- Ability to maintain focus and use problem-solving skills to achieve stated goals and objectives.
- Ability to work as part of a team to achieve benchmark results in quality care, revenue enhancement and patient satisfaction.
- Ability to collaborate with other departments to ensure a working partnership when a joint effort is required to achieve desired results.