Director of Patient Access

Thundermist's Mission: To improve the health of our patients and communities by delivering exceptional health care, removing barriers to that care, and advancing healthy lifestyles.


Title: Director of Patient Access Services Reports To: Senior Director of Patient Access and Support Services
Department: Patient Access Services Job Grade: 13
Employment Status: Exempt Date: January 2025


General Responsibilities:

The Director of Patient Access Services provides strategic and operational leadership for all provider-facing patient access functions to ensure timely, equitable, and efficient access to care, optimal provider utilization, and alignment with organizational goals. This role oversees eCW templates, provider PTO/uPTO, on-call coverage, panel assignments, productivity management, provider timecards, and access-related components of provider onboarding, offboarding, and recruitment.
The Director partners closely with Clinical Leadership, Practice Operations, Finance, HR, Credentialing, and IT to ensure scheduling integrity, contract compliance, productivity optimization, and consistent application of access standards. This role champions data-driven decision-making, accountability, and continuous improvement across all patient access and provider scheduling functions.

Position Description duties and responsibilities:

Provider Scheduling & Workforce Coordination
• Oversee provider hours, contract parameters, and scheduling templates to ensure alignment with organizational standards and patient demand.
• Manage Planned Schedule Change Requests, ensuring timely review, approval, and system updates in collaboration with practice leaders and Medical Directors.
• Lead timesheet oversight for providers, ensuring accuracy, reconciliation of hours, and compliance with contractual obligations.
• Coordinate onboarding and offboarding of providers, including schedule builds, access setup, panel attribution, and communication to operational teams.

Patient Access Strategy & Panel Management

• Oversee provider panel management, ensuring accurate attribution, active patient definitions, and alignment between capacity and demand.
• Monitor and report on patient demand, including new patient requests, access bottlenecks, visit types, template optimization, and forecasting future needs.
• Manage waitlists, ensuring regular review, prioritization, and conversion of patients into appropriate appointment slots.
• Collaborate with Operations, Nursing, and the Contact Center to ensure consistent application of scheduling guidelines.

Operational Processes & Workflows

• Manage eligibility verification workflows, ensuring timely and accurate insurance checks that support revenue cycle and reduce downstream denials.
• Oversee new patient registration processes, including data accuracy, communication workflows, and handoff to clinical teams.
• Lead the process of auto-appointment confirmations and related patient communication tools to improve attendance and reduce no-shows.
• Develop, refine, and implement policies and standard operating procedures related to scheduling, access, eligibility, and registration.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Supervise patient access representatives, registration specialists, and other direct reports supporting front-end operations across all sites.
• Foster collaborative relationships with Nursing, Clinical Operations, IT, Finance, and Revenue Cycle teams to improve efficiency and service delivery.
• Partner with the COO and DART/data analytics teams to use qualitative and quantitative data to drive decision-making and measure KPIs.
• Identify and implement best practices for patient access, provider scheduling, and patient flow optimization.

Compliance, Quality, & Performance

• Ensure all workflows meet regulatory and payer requirements, including FTCA, UDS, and other compliance standards.
• Monitor key performance indicators for patient access, including scheduling accuracy, panel management metrics, registration quality, waitlist conversion, and eligibility error rates.
• Prepare and present reports, operational summaries, trends, and recommendations to senior leadership.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Administration, Business, or a related field required, or equivalent years of commensurate professional experience; Master’s degree preferred.
• 5+ years of progressive leadership experience in patient access, practice management, or clinical operations, preferably in an FQHC or multisite healthcare setting.
• Strong understanding of provider scheduling, panel management, demand forecasting, and patient access systems.
• Demonstrated ability to lead teams, i