Clinic Clerk

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Job Summary

Within the Department of Family Medicine, the Queen's Family Health Team (QFHT) is a multidisciplinary team of health care professionals who provide primary health care services to the Kingston community. As an academic teaching centre, the Department trains future family physicians and conducts research in issues of primary health care delivery. QFHT is comprised of a number of medical practices and provides for a diverse, client centred work environment for all its employees. QFHT provides primary health services to rostered patients while modeling safe, efficient and collaborative clinical processes to Family Medicine residents and other health professional learners.

Reporting to the Clinical Program Coordinator, the clinic clerk is the first point of contact for all incoming communication, necessitating a courteous, professional and assistive response to patients, faculty physicians, residents and interdisciplinary health providers. The incumbent provides clerical and administrative support for the QFHT interdisciplinary team, (e.g. patient appointment scheduling with physicians, nurses, residents, and allied health providers) and external (e.g. specialists, other clinics, agencies, and hospitals) referrals. The incumbent will also assist in processing electronic medical records, patient billing invoice creation and documenting appropriately in thee-chart, as well as coordinating specialized requests related to patient records documentation, transfer, legal, and insurance requirements. The incumbent will manage phone and electronic requests, as well as other administrative duties within a high-volume, academic medical clinic.

Job Description

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Serve as first point of contact for all visitors to the clinic, ensuring that visitors/patients are professionally received and handled in an efficient manner. This contact may be in person, via telephone, or by email.
• Help resolve issues and inquiries that arise through the mail or by telephone; gather information and carry out any research that may be required to bring the matter to a successful resolution; follow-up as appropriate.
• Communicate effectively with physicians, residents/learners, staff, patients and external offices/agencies.
• Schedule appointments with internal QFHT providers. This includes booking and tracking specialty appointments (e.g. intellectual or developmental disability health checks) for patients who require additional support and follow up.
• Provide front-line problem solving and assist in maintaining a safe and efficient clinic flow. Proactively support patient care in cases of infectious disease, mental health, distress of any kind, emergency care and security.
• Run queries within the electronic medical record to identify patients who are due for particular tests, preventative screening, or condition-specific assessments. Book appointments with the appropriate provider in the appropriate timeframe and work to ensure continuity of care between patients and providers.
• Process documents received such as medical reports/consultations/notice of appointment, appropriately uploading scanned documents into the electronic medical record. Use best practices for electronic medical records filing, checking for accuracy, ensuring that communications are distributed or redirected correctly; work with very sensitive and highly confidential information.
• Coordinate referrals and tests including documentation to support requests, and advise patients of preparation for tests. Appropriately refer clinical questions to ordering personnel. Problem solving in cases where patient needs to travel outside of Kingston area to obtain timely tests/procedures.
• Use online referral system (e.g. Ontario Telemedicine Network eConsult) to coordinate specialists' responses to QFHT physician inquiries, working as the delegate to ensure timely responses between physicians, including tracking and follow up.
• Perform administrative duties such as sorting and distributing incoming mail, preparing outgoing mail, photocopying/faxing, receiving courier deliveries, distributing and retrieving information, updating and maintaining file system.
• Participate in relevant billing activities, including but not limited to preparing invoices for third party billing and uninsured services, processing of payments via point of sale equipment, reconciling payments, ensuring completion of appropriate insurance-related documentation (e.g. Blue Cross, UHIP).
• Input and maintain a complex rotation schedule annually for 50 new residents, distribution of patients and ongoing back end maintenance.
• Aid in the administration of special projects for QFHT physicians and residents, which may include researching and gathering data, organizing information into a useable form, ensuring ease of access to resources or services, recruiting patients and providing general administrative support and liaison functions throughout the project.
• Provide support for program administration, resident training, quality improvement projects and data management.
• Responsible for overseeing the intake of new patients, including responding to community inquiries, placing patients with appropriate physicians, providing the appropriate paperwork, initiating the electronic medical record.
• Arrange translation services for patients whose first language is not English
• Undertake other duties as required in support of the QFHT.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
• Two-year medical administrative program at the community college level.
• One to two years experience in a clinical setting, such as outpatient clinics, physician office, community health centre.
• Demonstrated understanding of medical terminology.
• Proficiency in working with electronic medical records and online scheduling of multiple providers.
• Consideration may be given to an equivalent combination of education and experience.

SPECIAL SKILLS:
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (both verbal and written} to deal with a wide variety of individuals in a professional and compassionate manner and to provide clear and accurate information.
• Ability to adhere to strict confidentiality and handle matters with tact and discretion. Ability to maintain privacy and security of patient information.
• Sensitivity to cultural differences.
• High level of attention to detail and accuracy, and ability to maintain focus despite frequent interruptions.
o Effective analytical and practical problem solving skills to help resolve administrative and service issues and make appropriate recommendations to resolve.
• Strong organizational and time management skills. Ability to establish priorities to work efficiently and effectively under pressure in an environment with frequent interruptions and multiple deadlines.
• Ability to stay calm under pressure and remain courteous.
• High degree of initiative and ability to work independently as well as in a multidisciplinary setting.
• A team-oriented approach and a service-oriented perspective.
• Use resources effectively and maintains a safe working environment.

DECISION MAKING:
• Prioritize work and time and decide what the most Important task is among several competing deadlines.
• Determine if patients need to be seen as priority, recognizing urgent requests, and determine which patients require referral to a nurse, resident or physician. Makes appropriate arrangements for referrals, tests, and ordering of prescriptions.
• Decide how to distribute information, what method to use, and to whom to send it (i.e. know when to consult appropriately with other members of the health care team).
• Respond to numerous inquiries and make decisions about where to refer callers/visitors to other clinic staff or supervisor to ensure the inquiry is handled promptly. Provide follow-up as necessary, ensuring matters are handled to successful conclusion.
• Make decisions regarding the dissemination of various types of sensitive and/or confidential information. Determine when to refer issues to senior staff.
• Identify opportunities for administrative process and safety improvements and notify appropriate clinic staff member. Suggest and help implement changes.

Employment Equity and Accessibility Statement

The University invites applications from all qualified individuals. Queen's is strongly committed to employment equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace and encourages applications from Black, racialized persons, Indigenous people, women, persons with disabilities, and 2SLGBTQI+ persons. In accordance with Canadian Immigration requirements, priority will be given to those who are legally eligible to work in Canada.

The University provides support in its recruitment processes to all applicants who require accommodation due to a protected ground under the Ontario Human Rights Code, including those with disabilities.