Vicky Soto

• The Vanderbilt University Medical Center Patient Access Services (PAS) – Associate Access Specialist role will operate within the Care Connections Contact Center. This role will provide service to patients and providers via inbound and outbound calls while scheduling appointments, capturing messages for the clinic staff and providers, and addressing the needs of the customer with occasional guidance while ensuring KPI goals are met. The Care Connections Associate Access Specialist will be responsible for scheduling patient appointments, escalates patients' health concerns in accordance with individual division guidelines, provides connections to resources for clinical advice and guidance, and navigates complex situations while making sound effective decisions.
• Collected and validated patient demographics and insurance information.
• Secured patient information and confidential medical records in compliance with HIPAA privacy rule standards to protect patient's privacy.
• Obtained signatures from financial responsibility and treatment procedures from patients or guardians.
• Collected and entered patient demographic and insurance data into computer database to establish patient's medical record.
• Answers calls for multiple clinics in an efficient and effective manner using standard greetings for opening of call, content of call and closure of call
• Demonstrate exceptional customer service and patient focus to make each encounter extraordinary
• Verify and accurately capture patient demographics, insurance, and appropriate medical information
• Schedule appointments using appropriate electronic system while following appropriate protocols for clinic/area, including prioritizing patient’s health concerns according to the department’s urgency
• Ensure that patient questions and problems are resolved efficiently, effectively, and expeditiously
• Provide information to patients and callers regarding appointment, date, time, location, clinic guidelines, parking, etc
• Initiate and complete service recovery as warranted to drive patient loyalty, patient satisfaction, and protect the clinic/patient relationship

• Worked with patients to ascertain issues and make referrals to appropriate specialists.
• Organized patient records and databases to facilitate information storage and retrieval.
• Facilitated communication between patients and various departments and staff.
• Applied administrative knowledge and courtesy to explain procedures and services to patients.
• Completed paperwork, recognizing discrepancies and promptly addressing for resolution.
• Prepared variety of different written communications, reports and documents to ensure smooth operations.
• Served customers and followed outlined steps of service.

Provides service to patients either pre-appointment, during or post-appointment with regular guidance. Responsibilities may include inbound/outbound telephone calls, cash management, appointment scheduling, process of insurance updates and patient check-in/out.

• Delivered support to consumer relations team regarding daily workload, special projects and key trends.
• Functioned independently and made empowered decisions that positively affected consumer's experience.
• Created and maintained reports and databases to track and evaluate follow-through on consumer affairs issues.
• Listened closely and understood perspectives on consumer issues and created equitable and fair solutions.
• Identified and resolved consumer issues with thorough research and follow-through.
• Cross-trained and provided back up for customer service managers.
• Maintained up-to-date knowledge of product and service changes.
• Handled over 300 calls per shift signing up new customers, retrieving customer data, presenting relevant product information and cancelling services.

Resolved cases involving out of warranty financial assistance.