Position Overview
A referral clerk is an individual who ensures that all doctors’ referrals and scheduling work is properly handled.
These people usually work in hospitals and private practices, where their main work is to ensure that charts are timely prepared, authorizations are obtained, and patients’ appointments are scheduled.
A referral clerk mans the telephone in practice, where he is she is required to respond to inquiries regarding patient referrals, and providing inquirers with direction.
Position Requirements
Typically, a high school diploma or a GED equivalent is sufficient to work as a referral clerk. Previous experience in this regard will go a long way in making you a great person to hire at this position.
Good communication and interpersonal skills are mandatory in this work. Computer operation abilities and the capability of navigating referral systems will go a long way in making you an eligible individual to work at this position.
As a referral clerk, you will be in constant contact with patients, and insurance company representatives, so you have to remain polite at all times, to ensure that the right information is derived and recorded. In addition to this, you will need to be exceptionally well-versed in creating and maintaining logs and records of patient referrals, and follow-ups.
If working as a referral clerk is on the charts, you will be interested in what the following list of job duties has to say:
Sample Job Description for Referral Clerk Resume
• Respond to referral inquiries over the telephone, ensuring that an accountable and respectable approach is followed.
• Look through referral cases, analyze each care to provide callers or visitors with the information that is relevant to their cases.
• Communicate all instances to concerned people in charge in a coherent manner.
• Create and maintain ongoing tracking and appropriate documents on referral cases, in a bid to promote team awareness.
• Ensure that the registration is complete and accurate, and includes information such as patient demographics, and current insurance information.
• Consult with doctors to determine the need for each referral, and provide feedback to patients.
• Create and maintain effective liaison with review organizations, and insurance companies, to ensure that prior approval requirements are properly met.
• Assemble information that concerns patients’ backgrounds, and referral needs, and ensure that this information is communicated to the specialist.
• Assist patients and their families in resolving problems related to the healthcare system, by supporting navigation and contact.
• Assume the role of a patient advocate with carriers, to ensure approval of necessary services and supplies.