Craig Justin Cowart

• Orchestrate end-to-end surgical scheduling for 40+ surgery cases per week across multiple high-volume surgeons and consistently achieving 98%+ on-time first case starts.
• Serve as the primary point of contact and escalation resource for surgeons, clinicians, assisting providers and patients, resolving complex scheduling conflicts and ensuring seamless care coordination.
• Design and implement optimized pre-operative workflows, including coordination of pre-admission testing, anesthesia/ medical clearance, and insurance authorization, drastically reducing case cancellations.
• Train and mentor coordinators and support staff on regulatory compliance, internal policies, and best-practice scheduling protocols.
• Partner with Revenue Cycle and Perioperative Leadership to identify and eliminate hindrances, resulting in improved OR block utilization and increased case volume capacity.
• Coordinated patient admissions, ensuring accurate documentation and compliance with healthcare regulations.
• Managed communication between patients and medical staff, facilitating timely appointments and follow-ups.
• Consistently recognized by surgeons and department leadership for exceptional communication, problem-solving, and ability to manage high-stress situations with composure.

• Led special projects and cross-functional initiatives by setting objectives, prioritizing deliverables, and driving on-time completion.
• Functioned as primary liaison and gatekeeper for the Director: independently resolved complex inquiries, drafted high-level correspondence, triaged all communications, and managed confidential information.
• Streamlined executive operations through proactive calendar management, conflict resolution, meeting coordination (agendas/minutes), report generation, expense processing, supply oversight, and multi-state licensure compliance.

• Functioned as dedicated executive-level personal assistant to 10 physicians across diverse departments, proactively managing high-volume, time-sensitive requests and ensuring immediate execution of all clinical and administrative priorities.

• Served as primary liaison bridging communication among physicians, patients, clinical teams, and administrative staff; anticipated needs and resolved issues to maintain seamless operational flow in a fast-paced academic medical center.

• Partnered directly with physicians and clinical staff to deliver comprehensive patient support, including detailed explanation of care plans, coordination of complex colorectal and gastroenterology procedures, and end-to-end surgical scheduling.

• Managed full-cycle insurance verification and prior authorization process; secured approvals for high-cost procedures, verified demographics, and mitigated financial risk while ensuring regulatory and payer compliance.

• Triaged and directed high-volume incoming calls with professionalism and urgency, consistently upholding exceptional patient experience standards in a demanding clinical environment.

Optimized provider productivity by expertly managing full-scope appointment scheduling (new patient visits, follow-ups, infusions, and diagnostic/therapeutic procedures including colonoscopy, endoscopy, and flexible sigmoidoscopy) across Epic and Outlook platforms.

• Maintained dynamic, conflict-free physician calendars in Epic Cadence and Outlook, proactively adjusting blocks and maximizing daily template utilization to support practice throughput goals.

• Served as the primary point of contact for a high-call-volume practice; professionally triaged incoming calls, managed patient messages and appointment notifications via Epic InBasket, and ensured rapid, accurate routing to appropriate clinical or administrative teams.

• Coordinated seamless escalation of complex surgical and infusion scheduling needs to senior medical secretaries while maintaining accountability for end-to-end patient communication and preparation.

• Ensured compliance with HIPAA and ROI protocols through accurate scanning, uploading, faxing, and retrieval of medical records; supported front desk and check-out operations during peak periods to maintain superior patient flow and satisfaction.

• Cultivated strong collaborative relationships with physicians, nursing teams, and office staff, fostering a cohesive and efficient practice environment.

• Recognized for delivering exceptional patient experience through proactive, detail-oriented, and highly personable coordination; consistently anticipated and fulfilled the needs of physicians, patients, and multidisciplinary teams in a fast-paced academic practice.
• Demonstrated advanced proficiency across multiple EMR/EHR platforms (Epic Cadence, OpTime, Prelude, and participating systems), leveraging technology to optimize scheduling accuracy, template utilization, and clinical workflows.
• Expertly orchestrated complex, multi-department appointment and testing schedules for patients, ensuring seamless care progression while minimizing delays and enhancing continuity of care.
• Planned, prioritized, and delegated tasks across team members to consistently meet or exceed project deadlines, production targets, and practice performance metrics.