Central Scheduler

Job Description

Job Summary 

The Central Scheduler is responsible for coordinating and managing the scheduling of patient appointments for various services within the hospital or healthcare facility. This includes scheduling diagnostic tests, procedures, consultations, and follow-up appointments. The Central Scheduler works closely with patients, healthcare providers, and other departments to ensure efficient appointment scheduling while optimizing the use of hospital resources and enhancing patient satisfaction. 

Essential Functions

• Coordinates and schedules patient appointments across multiple departments, including consultations, diagnostic tests, procedures, and follow-ups.
• Ensures that appointments are scheduled according to provider availability, patient needs, and facility resources.
• Accurately inputs patient information and appointment details into the hospital’s electronic scheduling system or EMR (Electronic Medical Records).
• Works closely with physicians, nurses, and other medical staff to ensure appointments are properly scheduled based on clinical priorities and medical requirements.
• Accurately schedules patients with an error rate = or < 2%.
• Accurately pre-registers scheduled patients on correct prep for the diagnostic test.
• Appropriately checks the medical necessity of scheduled tests for Medicare patients.
• Consistently refers uninsured and underinsured patient to financial assistance.
• Assists with general administrative tasks, including filing, organizing patient charts, and maintaining scheduling-related paperwork.
• Verifies personal and insurance information for pre-cert orders, and look up the appropriate CPT and ICD codes. Obtain clinical details from the physician’s office if needed, then contact the insurance company for prior authorization.
• Logs all pre-cert orders in the daily log and SOAP notes when necessary.
• Performs other duties as assigned.
• Complies with all policies and standards.

Qualifications

• H.S. Diploma or GED required
• Additional coursework or certification in healthcare administration, medical office management, or related fields is preferred
• 1-2 years of experience in scheduling, administrative, or customer service roles, preferably in a healthcare setting. required
• 1-2 years experience with electronic medical records (EMR) or scheduling software is highly preferred. preferred

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks and prioritize effectively.
• Ability to handle high volumes of scheduling requests in a fast-paced environment.
• Verbal and written communication skills.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook) and scheduling or EMR software.
• Knowledge of medical terminology is a plus.