Job responsibilities
Job title: Patient Advisor
Reports to: Assistant Practice Manager
Hours:
PM: Monday to Friday: 1.00pm to 6.30pm = 27.5 hours per week
Job summary:
To provide front of house customer service to all stakeholders with a positive and professional image at all times. This will include directing patients to the appropriate healthcare professional, booking of appointments and answering queries. Day to day administration duties to be dealt with effectively and efficiently in line with the practices policies and protocols.
This role will cover all aspects of reception and back-office administrative work.
Job responsibilities:
The duties and responsibilities to be undertaken by the members of the reception/administration team may include any or all of the items in the following list. Duties may vary from time to time under the direction of the Practice Manager, dependent on current & evolving workload and staffing levels. The Practice reserves the right to alter these if deemed necessary:
- Opening up/locking-up of practice premises and maintaining security in accordance with practice protocols.
- Maintaining and monitoring the practice appointments system.
- Processing personal and telephone requests for appointments, visits and telephone consultations and ensuring callers are directed to the appropriate healthcare professional.
- Navigation of patients to the correct healthcare professional.
- Processing and distributing incoming mail, emails and footfall enquiries.
- Taking messages and passing on information.
- Filing and retrieving paperwork.
- Processing repeat prescriptions in accordance with practice guidelines.
- Computer data entry/data allocation and collation; processing and recording information in accordance with practice procedures.
- Initiating contact with and responding to requests from patients, other team members and associated healthcare agencies and providers.
- Actioning administration tasks ensuring tasks are dealt with professionally and in a timely manner.
- Registering new patients ensuring accurate data entry.
- Processing deductions for patients leaving the practice.
- Forwarding clinical correspondence to the correct staff member and ensuring coding is allocated.
- Provision of refreshments for staff and visitors as required; keeping the kitchen area clean and tidy.
- Keeping the reception area, notice-boards and leaflet dispensers tidy and free from obstructions and clutter.
- Undertake training formally or informally as the business dictates.
- Any other tasks that are required from time to time as directed by the management team.
Confidentiality
- In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately
- In the performance of the duties outlined in this job description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential
- Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data
Health & Safety:
The post-holder will assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others health, safety and security as defined in the practice Health & Safety policy, the practice Health & Safety manual, and the practice Infection Control policy and published procedures. This will include:
- Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines.
- Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks.
- Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills.
- Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way and free from hazards.
- Actively reporting of health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised.
- Keeping own work areas and general / patient areas generally clean, assisting in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness consistent with the scope of the job holders role.
- Undertaking periodic infection control training (minimum annually).
- Reporting potential risks identified.
Equality and diversity:
The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, to include:
- Acting in a way that recognises the importance of peoples rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures and policies, and current legislation.
- Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues.
- Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.
Personal/Professional development:
The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment, such training to include:
- Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development.
- Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work.
Quality:
The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the practice, and will:
- Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk.
- Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision.
- Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the teams performance.
- Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients needs.
- Effectively manage own time, workload and resources.
Communication:
The post-holder should recognise the importance of effective communication within the team and will strive to:
- Communicate effectively with other team members.
- Communicate effectively with patients and carers.
- Recognise peoples needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly.
Contribution to the implementation of services:
The post-holder will:
- Apply practice policies, standards and guidance.
- Discuss with other members of the team how the policies, standards and guidelines will affect own work.
- Participate in audit where appropriate.