Senior Practice Assistant, Radiation Oncology

• A high school diploma or equivalent is required.
• Office experience of 3-5 years is required.
• Exceptional ability to prioritize multiple tasks to meet department objectives related to the overall management of patient care in a very busy atmosphere.
• Work efficiently with physicians to manage their clinic schedules, along with balancing their academic commitments.
• Able to maintain a positive attitude with patients and staff, along with an appreciation and awareness of patients' experiences.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal skills, and consistently fostering positive customer experiences.
• Able to work independently and in a team setting.
• Ability to navigate and develop effective working relationships within a large organization.
• Can comprehend and implement new concepts or modifications to processes requests quickly.
• Ensures quality clinical care and adherence to standard operating procedures and compliance requirements.
• Serves as a liaison for patients, including efficient routing of calls per telephone triage guidelines.
• Schedules appointments following guidelines that support continuity of care and a high standard of timely communication and rescheduling as necessary.
• Able to receive and act upon coaching and feedback.

Responsibilities:

• Schedules patient consults, simulations, new start, and follow-up appointments for CNS Radiation Oncology and, when needed.
• Informs patients and staff of appointments and changes related to therapy and appointment changes by patients.
• Critical point person for communication with physics, therapists, RN's, and other care providers (i.e., Radiology, Neurosurgery) for effective and timely scheduling.
• Coordinate Treatment Scheduling with the ARIA Task Force (ATF) Scheduling team to ensure Sim Request Forms and Intents are completed.
• Assists and monitors insurance/financial clearance for all patients.
• Manages systems to receive and distribute timely patient referrals to and from the Radiation Oncology program.
• Participates in the development of CNS Radiation Oncology documentation/QA activities.
• Obtains and prepares records/films in preparation for appointments and tracks the location of materials.
• Coordinates and facilitates patient rounds with the team. Coordinates information flow among CNS Radiation Oncology and multidisciplinary teams (physics, nursing, MD, Neurosurgery, and Medical Oncology).
• Builds and maintains effective working relationships with administrative staff, nurses, and MDs from other departments, as well as with physicians, therapists, nursing, MDs, and administrative staff from the Radiation Oncology department.
  Provides coverage for other programs as directed by the Clinical Administrative Manager and when necessary.
• Maintains standard communication with BWH and DFCI clinical and support staff concerning the status of patient materials.
• Assists in processing paperwork and completing administrative tasks associated with clinical care, including managing materials requests, orders, and uploading records.
• Responds to emails and manages other requests as appropriate for new patients. This includes the responsibility to relay detailed clinical information provided by patients, internal/external providers, and others, such as staff from ancillary services.
• Resolves problems independently, ensures continuous communication with the scheduling team, and appropriately escalates issues to management.
• Provides administrative support and coordination for all aspects of patient care for new patients.
• Triages issues and answers general questions, with the goal of resolving requests in real time.
• Recognizes emergencies and appropriately responds using standard operating procedures and critical thinking skills.
• Appropriately arranges resources and materials to support the patient experience.
• Answers telephone calls, responds to emails, and manages other referral inputs, as appropriate for new patients. This includes the responsibility to collect detailed clinical information provided by patients, internal/external providers, and others, such as staff from ancillary services, and either resolve problems directly or ensure appropriate escalation to management.
• Provides program-specific information to callers and refers calls as necessary. Assists in processing paperwork associated with clinical care, including managing materials requests, signing up for the EMR portal. Assists in the training of new staff.
• Other duties as required.