What is a Patient Access Representative?

Some of the key roles you’ll see include: Patient Registration and Admitting, ER Registration. Scheduling, Pre-Certification, and Financial Counseling. Many of their roles play a part in patient safety, since staff will confirm the patient demographics, confirm they place the correct armband on the right patient and enter their insurance information.

Many patient access roles are in the front end of the Revenue Cycle, which means the data they enter affects the downstream workflows. So, many of the challenges staff face are based upon the information they receive. If a patient is incapacitated, staff may struggle getting updated registration information. With medical billing being incredibly complicated, being able to explain the complex to patients when they’re sick, can sometimes be a difficult battle.

Staff will often need to educate the patients on why things are happening the way they are. For example, staff may need to explain to a disgruntled patient why they needed an authorization for one service, but not another. I like to think of Patient Access as the business hub of the hospital.

Unquestionably, customer service and compassion. I remind my staff of this often and try to practice this daily in my interactions with patients. The reality of the situation is that no one ever wants to be in the hospital. No one likes feeling sick and when you’re facing a health crisis, your attitude and behavior towards others may not be your norm. It’s important for Patient Access staff to remember this.

Since Patient Access is often the first part of the patient’s experience, it’s important to relay to the patient they will be coming to a place where they’ll be provided excellent customer service and they’ll be viewed as an actual person. It’s important the patient feels that you care from that first time you meet them.

That you’ll have a difficult job. You will constantly be balancing satisfying the patients and the clinical teams who are there to take care of them. A lot of your work will be influenced by situations out of your control and you’ll need to learn how to accept the things you cannot change.

Someone who wants to help others. People who are detail oriented. I think people who handle stress well and don’t take their job home with them are successful in patient access roles.

Helping people when they need it most is one of the most rewarding parts of patient access. When I can eliminate that fear of the unknown for the patient, I know that peace of mind I provided is one less thing they have to worry about. Now they can focus on feeling better.