Practice Coordinator
Temporary Employment Program Job Summary Please note: the duration will be approximately three months with potential to extend.
The Practice Coordinator 3 serves as the face of the Practice, collaborating with administrative, clinical, and management teams. Responsible for seamless operations and exceptional customer service, this role handles scheduling, referrals, revenue cycle management, and patient care coordination.
Key Responsibilities:
New Patient Scheduling and Processing:
- Manage referral workqueues and act as the primary contact for referring physicians and new patients.
- Schedule and register patients accurately, ensuring compliance with guidelines and collecting necessary information.
- Explain first appointment procedures to patients in understandable terms and manage patient expectations.
- Reviews New Patient appointment notes and/or referral received. Take note of the skin issue the patient is being referred for and find out if any procedure is requested by the referring provider (examples: possible skin biopsy for skin lesions, or possible cryotherapy treatment for premalignant or being lesions). Based on the determination, reviews or requests prior authorization either from the referring provider or from the insurance UM department.
- Pre-determine the type of appointment the patient may have; possible biopsy or any minor procedures may be performed based on skin issue or diagnosis.
- Informs or requests referring providers for prior authorization, if needed, for the new patient visit and possible procedures.
- Obtain lists of new patients to be seen in some multi-disciplinary clinics from the provider and clears these patients financially by verifying insurances and obtaining necessary clearance or prior authorization for the visit or planned procedures. Once cleared, will create appointments for these patients 1-2 days prior to the date of appointment to avoid confusing appointment confirmation call
Revenue Cycle:
- Perform cash collection, communicate financial policies to patients, and obtain insurance authorizations.
- Monitor provider open charts, work on denials, and secure complex authorizations.
- Secures complex insurance authorizations for services, medications, or testing and is able to track the authorizations for renewal based on insurance company driven limits of time frames or numbers of visits or services.
- Has demonstrated competency working with HCPC codes and is able to look up and locate the appropriate codes for the purpose of requesting authorization (e.g. J codes for medications like chemotherapy).
- Understands how to identify and interpret a patient's insurance benefit package, including pharmacy and mental health carve outs. Utilizes this information to direct authorization requests and to coordinate these services for patients.
- Reviews & analyses monthly denial reports for both professional and hospital billing. Initiatives retro authorizations from denial report.
- Identifies trends in denials and works with practice team and supervisors to develop and implement improved workflows to minimize denials.
- Oversees and coaches staff on complex authorization requests as they arise.
- Address patient complaints from patients regarding billing and complaints related to billing that come out of Patient Relations.
- Understands the concept of managed care and is knowledgeable about the resources available to the staff in regard to knowing the specific requirements of individual managed care plans. Assists patients to understand the concept of managed care.
- Reviews all upcoming visits to determine patient eligibility and assists with transitioning patients who are no longer eligible to new primary care practices through collaboration with the practice Social Worker and clinical teams.
- Department resource for insurance questions and insurance updates, including having reserved time on the staff agenda to review updates with administrative team.
Environmental Responsibilities, General Performance, and Customer Service Outreach:
- Maintain workplace safety, patient confidentiality, participate in team building, and handle customer service inquiries and complaints.
- Deals directly with patients either by telephone, electronically or face to face while consistently following EVERYDAY PRIDE principles in verbal and written communications
- Responds promptly and courteously to internal and external inquiries. Stays logged into appropriate APeX Pools and In Baskets.
- Handles front line patient complaints with the support of the Practice Supervisor / Administrative Director
- Supports all performance improvement initiatives as outlined by the Medical Center leadership through active participation and initiation
- Obtains and evaluates all relevant information to handle inquiries and complaints
- S/he is a strong team player, has a dedicated work ethic, and is willing to learn and adapt to new tasks when asked. S/he is comfortable building rapport with patients quickly and is able to work effectively with and without supervision and remain calm and friendly in all interactions with patients
- Notifies providers of patient delays and service issues. Acts and advocate for patients to help facilitate provider punctuality in seeing patients according to schedule.
- Communicates provider delays with front office team and makes regular announcements to waiting room as needed when delays are over 30 minutes.
- Offers suggestions for change or improvement in clinic/practice operations.
- S/he leads by example in the areas professional appearance, demeanor and body language, making eye contact with patients and internal customers, exhibits a friendly demeanor to put patients at ease.
- Seeks opportunities to improve patient convenience. Utilizes service recovery amenities as appropriate. Contributes to the development of a patient-focused environment.
The final salary and offer components are subject to additional approvals based on UC policy. To see the salary range for this position (we recommend that you make a note of the job code and use that to look up): TCS Non-Academic Titles Search (https://tcs.ucop.edu/non-academic-titles) Please note: An offer will take into consideration the experience of the final candidate AND the current salary level of individuals working at UCSF in a similar role. For roles covered by a bargaining unit agreement, there will be specific rules about where a new hire would be placed on the range. To learn more about the benefits of working at UCSF, including total compensation, please visit: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/compensation-and-benefits/index.html Department Description UCSF's Temporary Employment Program (TEP) recruits and hires temporary employees for immediate clerical and technical support services to UCSF Departments and various off-campus locations. UCSF departments deploy temporary employees to work on special projects, fill in for regular employees who are on vacation or leave, or to temporarily fill a vacant position during recruitment. Frequently temporary employees become successful candidates for career and limited appointment positions. Required Qualifications
- High School graduate or equivalent with four years related experience; or college degree and 6 months related experience; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Experience with in-person client service
- Scheduling patients
- Strong computer skills, including basic keyboarding skills, and experience with at least two Office-type software programs (i.e., Outlook, Word and Excel). Proven ability to navigate through multiple patient records systems. Able to sit at a computer terminal with telephone headphones for extended period of time.
- Ability to analyze situations, prioritizes, and develops solutions and makes recommendations.
- Ability to work with minimal supervision
- Ability to use good judgment and work independently, at times under the pressure of deadlines
- Ability to access situations prioritizes workload, develop solutions and make recommendations.
- Excellent customer service and communication/interpersonal skills, both over the telephone and directly.
- Able to sit at a computer terminal with telephone headphones for extended periods of time.
- Basic math skills required.
- Proven ability to deal with a wide variety of individuals;
- Ability to deal sensitively and effectively with patients.
- Excellent organizational and problem-solving skills.
- Strong writing skills to include the ability to compose, edit, and proof a wide variety of documents.
- Demonstrated administrative/office coordination skills.
- Demonstrated knowledge of medical practice terminology.
Preferred Qualifications
- EPIC/APeX strongly preferred.
- Experience in healthcare, including patient scheduling, insurance verification, and medical record data abstraction.
- Experience in ambulatory settings.
- Prior experience with appointment, ancillary service, or surgical scheduling.
- Bilingual or multilingual capability (Spanish, Cantonese, and Russian).
About UCSF The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. It is the only campus in the 10-campus UC system dedicated exclusively to the health sciences. We bring together the world's leading experts in nearly every area of health. We are home to five Nobel laureates who have advanced the understanding of cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, aging and stem cells. Pride Values UCSF is a diverse community made of people with many skills and talents. We seek candidates whose work experience or community service has prepared them to contribute to our commitment to professionalism, respect, integrity, diversity and excellence - also known as our PRIDE values.
In addition to our PRIDE values, UCSF is committed to equity - both in how we deliver care as well as our workforce. We are committed to building a broadly diverse community, nurturing a culture that is welcoming and supportive, and engaging diverse ideas for the provision of culturally competent education, discovery, and patient care. Additional information about UCSF is available at diversity.ucsf.edu
Join us to find a rewarding career contributing to improving healthcare worldwide. Equal Employment Opportunity The University of California San Francisco is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information. Job Code and Payroll Title 004818 PRACTICE CRD 3 Job Category Administrative Support, Professional and Managerial, Support Services, Temporary Employment Bargaining Unit Teamsters Local 2010 - Clerical and Allied Services Unit (CX) Employee Class Temporary Employment Location San Francisco, CA Additional Shift Details 8 am - 5 pm |
University of California - San Francisco Campus and Health
Jun 26, 2025