What is a patient access representative?

A patient access representative is a medical office employee whose main responsibilities include registration, scheduling and managing phone calls. Patient access representatives must have a cursory knowledge of health care laws and processes and strong communication and customer service skills.

Patient access representatives ensure that patients are registered properly and that insurance is billed correctly. They also schedule appointments and facilitate referrals to other specialties. Additionally, they handle incoming and outgoing phone calls related to appointment scheduling, medication refills, triaging, referrals, medical questions and complaints. Because health care has increasingly moved to electronic health records, patient access representatives must be highly adept with computers and other technologies.