Job Description

Our client is currently seeking a Director of Patient Access


Role Description: The Director of Patient Access provides strategic and operational leadership for Patient Access services across the health system. The Director is responsible for ensuring timely, accurate, efficient, and patient-centered access to care while optimizing front-end revenue cycle performance.


This position provides leadership over functions that may include hospital registration and admissions, emergency department registration, pre-registration, insurance eligibility and benefits verification, prior authorization and financial clearance, patient estimates, financial counseling, point-of-service collections, and related patient access activities.


The Director establishes standardized processes, performance expectations, and accountability across Patient Access operations and partners closely with Revenue Cycle, Finance, Clinical Operations, Case Management/Utilization Management, Information Technology, Managed Care, and hospital and ambulatory leadership.


Key Responsibilities


Patient Access Operations
• Direct Patient Access operations across hospital and applicable outpatient locations, including 24/7 registration environments.
• Oversee registration/admissions, ED registration, pre-registration, insurance verification, financial clearance, authorization, estimates, financial counseling, and point-of-service collection functions within the assigned organizational model.
• Establish standardized workflows, policies, procedures, and service expectations across Patient Access locations.
• Ensure appropriate staffing and leadership coverage based on patient volumes, service requirements, and operational needs.
• Identify opportunities to centralize, automate, or redesign Patient Access processes to improve efficiency and patient experience.


Revenue Cycle Performance
• Ensure accurate and complete capture of patient demographic, insurance, guarantor, and financial information at or before the point of service.
• Develop processes that reduce registration-related denials, authorization failures, eligibility issues, preventable write-offs, and other front-end revenue leakage.
• Establish expectations for insurance verification, authorization, financial clearance, estimates, and patient financial responsibility.
• Optimize point-of-service collections while maintaining compassionate and patient-centered financial interactions.
• Partner with downstream revenue cycle functions to identify root causes of denials and payment delays attributable to front-end processes.


Performance Management & Analytics
• Establish, monitor, and report Patient Access key performance indicators.
• Use operational and financial data to identify performance gaps and implement corrective action plans.
• Develop dashboards and management routines that create accountability at the director, manager, supervisor, and employee levels.
• Benchmark performance against industry standards and peer organizations.
• Present Patient Access performance, trends, risks, and improvement initiatives to Revenue Cycle and executive leadership.


Leadership & Workforce Management
• Lead, develop, and mentor Patient Access managers, supervisors, leads, and team members.
• Establish a culture of accountability, service excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Develop organizational structures and staffing models appropriate for patient volumes and service requirements.
• Oversee recruitment, onboarding, training, competency assessment, performance management, and leadership development.
• Ensure employees receive ongoing education regarding payer requirements, regulatory changes, technology, customer service, and revenue cycle processes.
• Develop succession plans and leadership capabilities within Patient Access.
• Manage departmental labor and operating budgets.


Patient Experience
• Ensure Patient Access interactions provide an efficient, compassionate, and professional first


Required skills:
• Strong knowledge of hospital Patient Access and front-end revenue cycle operations.
• Knowledge of commercial, Medicare, Medicaid, and managed-care payer requirements.
• Knowledge of healthcare reimbursement and denial-prevention principles.
• Approximately 7-10 years of progressive Patient Access, Revenue Cycle, or healthcare operations experience.
• Approximately 5 years of progressive management experience, preferably including leadership of managers or supervisors.
• Experience managing Patient Access operations in an acute-care hospital or multi-site health system strongly preferred.
• Experience with Epic, Cerner, Meditech, or comparable enterprise EHR/revenue cycle systems.
• Strong analytical and performance-management capabilities.
• Demonstrated process-improvement and change-management skills.
• Strong financial and budget-management skills.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and conflict-resolution abilities.
• Ability to lead large, geographically or operationally dispersed teams.
• CHAM, CHAA, CRCR, or related healthcare revenue cycle certification preferred.

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