Ashley Conrad
Buffalo,NY
Summary
Friendly, outgoing Medical Secretary with over 10 years of experience in the heath care and customer service industry. Created welcoming atmosphere when speaking with potential and existing clients/patients.
Overview
17
17
years of professional experience
1
1
Certificate
Work History
OR Scheduling Secretary
Golisano Children's Hospital of Buffalo
Buffalo, NY
05.2025 - Current
- Coordinated surgical schedules to optimize operating room utilization and enhance patient flow.
- Communicated with medical staff to confirm appointment details and address inquiries.
- Managed electronic health records to ensure accurate data entry and compliance with regulatory standards.
- Collaborated with surgeons and nursing staff to prioritize urgent cases and streamline scheduling processes.
- Developed standardized procedures for scheduling, improving efficiency and reducing conflicts in operations.
- Trained new staff on scheduling software and operational protocols, enhancing team performance and knowledge retention.
- Handled urgent requests effectively, prioritizing cases requiring immediate attention while also balancing routine surgery demands appropriately.
- Maintained strict confidentiality in handling sensitive patient information, adhering to HIPAA guidelines and clinic policies.
- Demonstrated adaptability in managing last-minute schedule changes while minimizing disruption to overall workflow.
- Answered telephone calls to offer office information, answer questions, and direct calls to staff.
Medical Secretary, Robert Warner Rehab
Kaleida Health
Buffalo, NY
05.2024 - Current
- Prioritized calls through screening process and transferred calls and recorded messages for appropriate personnel.
- Managed front desk operations efficiently while greeting patients warmly and addressing their concerns professionally.
- Answered telephone calls to offer office information, answer questions, and direct calls to staff.
- Maintained a clean and organized office environment to promote a positive atmosphere for both staff and patients.
- Kept information confidential and followed HIPAA guidelines to maintain patient trust.
- Registered new patients in electronic medical records prior to appointment scheduling.
- Supported office staff and operational requirements with administrative tasks.
- Enhanced office productivity by handling high volume of callers per day.
Medical Secretary, ENT Surgery
Conventus
Buffalo, NY
03.2023 - 05.2024
- Improved patient scheduling efficiency by streamlining appointment booking processes.
- Ensured optimal patient care by maintaining detailed records of medical histories, insurance information, and surgical consents.
- Enhanced patient satisfaction by providing clear explanations of surgical procedures and addressing concerns promptly.
- Contributed to overall clinic success with proactive identification of areas for process improvement in scheduling systems.
- Demonstrated adaptability in managing last-minute schedule changes while minimizing disruption to overall workflow.
- Elevated patient experience by providing empathetic support throughout the entire surgical journey-from initial consultation to post-operative follow-up appointments.
- Organized all necessary documentation for successful completion of medical audits related to surgery scheduling practices.
- Educated patients on pre-surgery requirements, such as fasting protocols or medication adjustments, resulting in fewer complications on the day of the procedure.
- Handled urgent requests effectively, prioritizing cases requiring immediate attention while also balancing routine surgery demands appropriately.
- Developed relationships with referring physicians'' offices, fostering strong communication channels that benefitted both parties in coordinating patient care.
- Verified insurance coverage and obtained pre-authorizations.
Care Coordinator, Quality
Neighborhood Health Center
Buffalo, NY
03.2022 - 03.2023
- Supported patient care excellence via provider roster updates and scheduling appropriate appointments.
- Assisted in resolving facility discrepancies by updating patient charts in EMR.
- Built strong relationships with patients to deliver support and appropriate services.
- Engaged patients in meaningful conversation, socialization and activity while providing personal care assistance.
- Monitored, tracked and conveyed important patient information to healthcare staff to help optimize treatment planning and care delivery.
- Determined specific needs and provided most appropriate level of services for patient well-being.
- Used Allscripts and Azara to maintain records of services performed and apparent condition of patients.
- Updated patient medical records utilizing Healthelink and other provider portals.
- Focused on moderate risk populations, such as Hypertension and Diabetes, ensuring we are addressing any gaps in patient care.
- Used motivational interviewing as a tool to communicate with patients and improve their overall health literacy.
- Ensured that all needs of patient are met, to the best of my ability, at the conclusion of each interaction. Giving clients the space and time in which to fully express their needs.
Community Health Worker
Neighborhood Health Center
Buffalo, NY
11.2020 - 03.2022
- Assisted patients and families with accessing and connecting to internal providers and services, external community resources, and support in understanding options available for their health.
- Provided education and outreach to improve patients' quality of life, health, and wellbeing. Assisted with removing barriers that patients' may have that prevent access to healthcare.
- Assisted with applications regarding health insurance or sliding fee scale, and connected patients to the appropriate facilitators.
- Assisted patients with completing referrals as ordered by providers, obtained prior authorization as needed for procedures and external referrals, documents and tracks progress until completion.
- Supported clients experiencing hardships such as homelessness, food insecurity, domestic violence, lack of transportation, and inadequate insurance coverage by connecting them with community services. Worked together with providers, clinical staff, front desk, and billing to find further ways to assist our patients.
- Supported the Mobile Unit team by completing the set up process, traveling to the educational site, ensuring that all supplies are accounted for and set up at site, completing the registration process when patients arrive, ensuring that all consent forms are completed for minors receiving care without a parent/ensuring a parent is present to sign appropriate forms, scheduling follow up appointments, providing social support when identified by clinical staff, rooming patients when requested by clinical staff.
- Assisted in initiatives during the holidays and health center week to support our community and ensure that we are taking into consideration the needs of those we serve.
- Worked with providers to coordinate care when requested and to assist with patients that are high risk by scheduling appointments with NHC or external providers, coordinating transportation, ensuring that lab work or procedures are being completed prior to appointments, ensuring that prescription refill requests are filed when needed, and giving emotional support to patients when the need arises.
- Provided education and feedback when a patient requires further understanding of a referral or medical condition when able to do so, and provided education on the referral process to ensure a smooth transition into specialty care.
Patient Service Representative
Neighborhood Health Center
Buffalo, NY
02.2020 - 11.2020
- Assisted patients in filling out check-in and payment paperwork.
- Took copayments and compiled daily financial records.
- Used Allscripts EMR to schedule appointments.
- Confirmed appointment times, location, and provider during the registration process and check out process.
- Appropriately input all insurance information including active and expiration dates.
Admissions Assistant
McGuire Group - Garden Gate Health Care Facility
Cheektowaga, NY
12.2019 - 02.2020
- Coordinated admissions process through ensuring patient rooms were ready for new arrivals
- Answered call lights and completed simple tasks for patients when able, notifying correct staff member if the task was something medical related
- Collaborated with maintenance, housekeeping, and medical staff the ensure all was ready for each arrival of a new patient
Social Work Assistant
McGuire Group - Garden Gate Health Care Facility
Cheektowaga, NY
05.2019 - 12.2019
- Managed residential discharges for facility and coordinated after-care activities.
- Had the responsibility of completing admissions interviews for the social work department as well as keeping record of residents' PHQ-9 and BIMS Assessments completed during the interview.
- Was responsible for taking notes for Team Meetings discussing patient care throughout the subacute rehabilitation wing, as well as creating calendars for discharges and family meetings based on the notes taken.
- Entered preliminary social work assessments into the charting database, using the database to research information on every new patient to give the social workers a basic overview of mental health and cognitive disorders/deficits.
- Audited MOLSTs (Methods Of Life Saving Treatment) forms throughout the building, ensuring each patient has one that is properly completed. Also ensured that proper documentation for Surrogate, Health Care Proxy, and/or Power of Attorney was present within each chart.
- Kept a record of all psych related medications for each patient, giving the report to the social workers.
Activity Leader
McGuire Group - Garden Gate Health Care Facility
Cheektowaga, NY
01.2017 - 01.2019
- Participated in and coordinated general nursing home activity programs such as bingo, card games, music programs, art programs, and other activities designed for patient entertainment or social involvement
- Gave company and emotional support to residents within the facility that were lonely, depressed, or confused
- Had the responsibility of completing admissions interviews for the activity department as well as keeping record of residents' care preferences
- Coordinated and ran most music related programs within the activity department, and was responsible for creating a larger focus on music for healing purposes.
Private Nanny
Self-employed
New York, NY
01.2009 - 01.2019
- Taken care of children ages 3months-17 years
- Babysat children with mental and physical disabilities, including cancer patients, amputees, and children with complete blindness
- Watched children for up to 24 hours, especially when the parents have had work or other commitments
- Gained basic knowledge in the care of intravenous administration of medication and fluids, via Mediport or Broviac central line blood catheter.
Education
High School Diploma -
Iroquois Senior High School
Elma, NY05-2010
Skills
- Patient check-in
- Patient Scheduling
- Payment Collection
- HIPAA
- Database Administration
- Insurance Verification
- Critical thinking abilities
- Clinical Support
- Conflict resolution techniques
- Medicare/Medicaid
- Transcription
- Electronic Recordkeeping
- Administrative support experience
- Provider Relations
Certification
- Narcan Training - 2021 (Recertification pending)
- CPR Training (Adult, Infant, and Child) - 2022
Timeline
OR Scheduling Secretary
Golisano Children's Hospital of Buffalo
05.2025 - Current
Medical Secretary, Robert Warner Rehab
Kaleida Health
05.2024 - Current
Medical Secretary, ENT Surgery
Conventus
03.2023 - 05.2024
Care Coordinator, Quality
Neighborhood Health Center
03.2022 - 03.2023
Community Health Worker
Neighborhood Health Center
11.2020 - 03.2022
Patient Service Representative
Neighborhood Health Center
02.2020 - 11.2020
Admissions Assistant
McGuire Group - Garden Gate Health Care Facility
12.2019 - 02.2020
Social Work Assistant
McGuire Group - Garden Gate Health Care Facility
05.2019 - 12.2019
Activity Leader
McGuire Group - Garden Gate Health Care Facility
01.2017 - 01.2019
Private Nanny
Self-employed
01.2009 - 01.2019
High School Diploma -
Iroquois Senior High School