About the position
The Appointment Clerk position at Kaiser Permanente in Norwalk, California, is a vital role that provides high-level member assistance by scheduling various appointments, transferring calls appropriately, composing messages, and providing general information. This position operates within a high-volume, highly structured call center environment, responding to incoming calls and determining the type of appointment requested or needed. The clerk reviews the scheduling mix of various physicians and providers, making appointments in accordance with established guidelines. In this role, the Appointment Clerk prioritizes member needs and offers alternatives when appropriate, utilizing superior customer service skills to diffuse difficult member encounters. The clerk must use tact and diplomacy in handling challenging interactions, determining if calls are urgent or emergent and transferring them to a Registered Nurse when necessary. Composing messages for physicians, Registered Nurses, or other medical staff based on member requests is also a key responsibility. The Appointment Clerk is expected to respond courteously and professionally to general inquiries, using online databases to provide information to members and other personnel. Identifying ways to improve service quality and recommending steps to accomplish these changes is essential. The clerk must perform clerical duties, including assigning new members a primary care physician, processing self-referral requests, and managing appointment scheduling. This position requires meeting established standards of performance for quality and productivity while performing various clerical tasks and assisting in problem-solving with co-workers.
Responsibilities
- Upholds Kaiser Permanente's Policies and Procedures, Principles of Responsibilities, and applicable laws.
- Operates in a high volume, highly structured call center environment by responding to incoming calls.
- Determines the type of appointment requested or needed and makes appointments utilizing appropriate guidelines.
- Prioritizes member needs and offers alternatives when appropriate.
- Utilizes superior customer service skills to provide service to members and diffuse difficult encounters.
- Uses tact and diplomacy in handling difficult interactions with members.
- Determines if calls are urgent or emergent and transfers to a Registered Nurse when appropriate.
- Composes messages for physician/providers, Registered Nurses, or other medical staff based on member requests.
- Responds courteously and professionally to general questions using online databases.
- Identifies ways to improve quality of service to members and recommends steps to accomplish these changes.
- Performs clerical duties including assigning new members a primary care physician and processing self-referral requests.
- Answers incoming calls and determines appointment availability.
- Notifies members of appointment/scheduling changes by telephone as directed.
- Schedules, reschedules, and verifies appointments.
- Contacts appropriate departments to obtain medical record numbers of new enrollees.
- Assists in resolving problems related to duplicate medical record numbers.
- Initiates change of physician requests and change forms for corrected medical record numbers.
- Verifies and updates member demographics and performs online inquiry functions.
- Records and maintains activity logs and performs routine maintenance of printers/copiers.
- Recommends procedure changes and trains new or less experienced personnel.
- Initiates telephone calls to physicians or other medical office staff when indicated to assist members.
Requirements
- One (1) year of customer service experience in a service-related industry, preferably healthcare.
- High school diploma or equivalent.
- Effective telephone communication skills and excellent interpersonal skills.
- Must obtain passing score on Customer Care Simulation assessment, current within one (1) year.
- Must be able to effectively communicate, verbally and in writing, in English.
- Must complete Service Orientation Assessment.
- Must take Proofreading Assessment for non-KP employees only.
