Perhaps one of the most important position in a medical facility, a patient scheduler is an individual who is responsible for creating a parity between the calendars of doctors and patients, to determine suitable timings for appointments. Patient schedulers usually work in hospitals and clinics and are probably the first people one connects with when calling in to ask for an appointment.
Working as a patient scheduler may not require you to possess more than a high school diploma or a GED, but you will need to be someone who can think on his feet and get the job done quickly. But scheduling appointments is not all that patient schedulers do – they also make sure that patients’ test are scheduled on time and that any required forms are completed properly.
Since patient schedulers are usually a first point of contact in a medical setting, they need to be pleasant, knowledgeable about the facility and its services, and possess exceptional communication skills. Also, patient schedulers need to spend a great amount of time on the telephone and email which is why it is important for them to be able to live up to the demands of doing repetitive work on a daily basis.
Sample Job Description for Patient Scheduler Resume
• Greet patients in person or over the telephone and provide them with specific information regarding the facility’s services
• Take and record patient information and determine their need for consulting a physician or a specialist
• Provide patients with information about on-board medical service providers and their credentials
• Schedule appointments with doctors by determining empty slots on calendars
• Inform patients about set appointments and provide them with information on the documents that they need to bring along
• Follow-up with patients by providing them with reminders for appointments and cancel any appointments that do not reach fruition
• Assist patients in filling out appointment and hospital registration forms and obtain their insurance information for record purposes
• Schedule tests and procedures for patients on the specific instructions of doctors and ensure that results are expedited and filed in patients’ personal folders
• Update patient information in the database to ensure that patients’ files are complete at all times
• Maintain patient waiting areas and front desk areas in an organized and neat manner
• Handle patient flow within the facility by ensuring that no overlapping appointments are given out
• Assist in contacting insurance companies to determine statuses of unpaid claims and provide support in readmitting existing claims for payouts