Referral Coordinator - Behavioral Health Triage Services

REFERRAL COORDINATOR— Adult Behavioral Health Triage Team

Job Location:

Remote/Hybrid 8:00am-4:30pm or 9:00pm-5:30pm. You must reside in North Carolina to be considered for this position.

The Referral Coordinator provides a comprehensive scheduling experience to meet the various needs of patients and referring providers within a centralized team. The Referral Coordinator performs various appointment and access‑related duties for clinic(s), including scheduling appointments from a referral, following up on referrals faxed externally, and closing the loop on all reconcilable referrals placed. The Referral Coordinator remains current on providers, service locations, and insurance payers, while providing the highest levels of service excellence to each patient.

• Provide accurate information to patients regarding various services, providers, and locations available within the Duke University Health System and the surrounding community.
• Actively identify, listen, and understand the needs of each patient. Ask thoughtful questions to determine the appropriate resources or actions to be taken.
• Assist in scheduling all Adult Outpatient Behavioral Health services.
• Utilize referral standard work documents and resources and always perform work within established standards.
• Make judgments guided by standard work on how to prioritize patients and complete tasks.
• Patient Scheduling:
  • Identify patients using two identifiers in accordance with compliance guidelines.
  • Schedule appointments from the referral using scheduling guidelines and questionnaires to determine the appropriate provider, location, and visit type.
  • Maintain knowledge and resources to schedule patients outside of Duke as appropriate.
  • Answer questions from patients and ordering providers on where to send referrals for quickest access, closest geographic location, as well as specific insurance requirements.
  • Provide patients with appropriate directions and pre‑visit appointment information.
  • Identify and document special needs; schedule interpreters as needed.
  • Review assigned work queues and prioritize them by team procedure.
• Improvement Initiatives:
  • Maintain liaison with other offices and departments to coordinate referrals, foster collaboration, leverage resources, and help accomplish program objectives.
  • Contribute to program effectiveness by communicating trends and recommending modifications to current workflows.
  • Proactively communicate issues to Manager as it relates to access.
  • Actively participate in continuous improvement processes and practice‑level improvement projects.

• Education: A high school diploma or equivalency is required. College or completion of post‑secondary education is strongly preferred.
• Experience: Minimum of one year of health‑care related experience. An associate degree or higher may substitute for the experience requirement.
  Strongly preferred for Referral Coordinator: Two years of health‑care related experience; active user of electronic medical records (EMR) software; experience with obtaining insurance authorizations; comprehensive knowledge of primary care referral protocol; familiar with process‑improvement methods (PDSA, A3, 5S); comfortable training peers.

Ability to professionally communicate both verbally and in writing with patients, providers, internal specialty departments, and clinics in the surrounding community. Exceed patient expectations. Comfortable with behavioral health concerns. Meet or exceed daily productivity goals as set forth by the department. Demonstrate Duke's values and behaviors in every interaction. Comply with all regulatory and compliance policies and procedures. Strong ability to handle complex workflows utilizing critical thinking skills.

Autonomous problem‑solving and decision‑making as it relates to referrals, patient appointment and scheduling support, and other duties as assigned by clinic leadership. Skilled teammate who assists in helping service maintain expectations and meet goals. Accurate typing and data entry skills. Excellent customer service and communication skills. Knowledge of HIPAA…