ALESSA FERRARO
Pensacola,Florida
Summary
Detail-oriented and performance-focused healthcare professional, offering hands-on experience in medical operations, regulatory compliance, and all administrative functions. Armed with proven capabilities in managing and maintaining clinical operations, workflow optimization, and multi-level collaboration. Adept at cultivating relationships with various department heads, providers, vendors, and staff; as well as formulating best practices, maintaining administrative independence, and analyzing various reports. Highly capable of completing multiple tasks without compromising results while thriving within fast-paced environments.
Overview
12
12
years of professional experience
Work History
EHR Optimization Specialist
Baptist Health Care
Pensacola, FL
01.2016 - Current
- Managed and directed 3 optimization carousels that included Primary Care, OBGYN, and Orthopedics service lines
- Drove process, efficiency and quality improvements, resulting in 20% increase in patient discharge times
- Implemented appointment schedules and guidelines for over 1500 clinic, surgery, and physical therapy treatment appointments annually
- Offer support to 27 providers in enhancing their accounts by developing best practices and medical documentation accuracy
- Observe strict adherence to documentation control procedures specified by regulatory agencies
- Take part in various project implementations, as well as process and workflow changes to LIS and PACS
- Implemented new hire training to further develop skills and initiate discussions on task prioritization
- Contribute to formulating coaching programs for new hires, system changes, project implementation, and upgrades
- Devise and distribute job aids, training implementation, and other materials to over 1,000 team members
- Collaborated with multi-disciplinary staff to improve overall patient care and response times
Referral Coordinator - Rheumatology Department
Baptist Health Care
Pensacola, FL
01.2014 - 10.2016
- Took charge of processing departmental referrals, new patient packets, external reports, and data entry, as well as maintaining up-to-date referral information
- Fulfilled a wide array of tasks which involved validating insurance eligibility and updating patient demographic data; as well as ensuring accurate ICD-10 and CPT codes per referring doctor's order
- Worked on outgoing referral packets for specialist-to-specialist referrals
- Guaranteed validity of insurance authorizations for procedures, tests, and treatments prior to patients' initial visit by interfacing with insurance companies and government entities
- Assumed responsibility in requesting insurance authorizations and checking validity of patient's insurance for all office visits
- Performed various administrative-related duties, such as answering phone calls and registering and discharging patients
- Employed keen attention to detail in tracking referral percentage threshold of over 10% to meet Meaningful Use measure
- Scheduled patients according to availability, urgency and insurance authorization guidelines
- Managed up to 50 patient referrals daily through multi-line telephone system
Patient Services Representative
TriWest Healthcare Alliance
Puyallup, WA
01.2014 - 08.2014
- Held accountability in receiving, monitoring, and evaluating medical information
- Complied with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in securing health information of patients when using/disclosing protected health information (PHI)
- Analyzed and responded to provider requests for additional services while adhering to Veteran Affairs (VA) authorizations
- Monitored and updated medical documentation from networked providers
- Recorded medical documentation along with all facets of scheduling, patient transfers, inquiries, and complaints
- Set up automated or live outbound phone calls to over 100 veterans and providers per day
- Encoded referral requests with appropriate coding and provider selection and confirmed receipt of medical documentation to enable claim payment
- Organized appointment schedules for veterans in all medical specialties in accordance with VA guidelines
Education
Master of Science - Healthcare Administration - Population Health
Colorado State University - Global Campus
Greenwood Village, CO2020
Bachelor of Science - Healthcare Administration
University of Phoenix
Phoenix, AZ2013
Skills
- Process and Workflow Optimization
- Document Management
- Problem-Solving Skills
- Project Coordination
- Patient Records Maintenance
- Medical Terminology Understanding
- Medical Billing and Coding
- Patient Appointment Management
- Patient Communication
- Medical Record Assessment
- Medical Office Support Expertise
- Payment Collection
- Medical Office Administration
- Medical Records Management
Timeline
EHR Optimization Specialist
Baptist Health Care
01.2016 - Current
Referral Coordinator - Rheumatology Department
Baptist Health Care
01.2014 - 10.2016
Patient Services Representative
TriWest Healthcare Alliance
01.2014 - 08.2014
Master of Science - Healthcare Administration - Population Health
Colorado State University - Global Campus
Bachelor of Science - Healthcare Administration
University of Phoenix