A career as a verification specialist is often fitting for a person who is highly organized and has excellent interpersonal skills. In many cases, these individuals work in the healthcare industry and perform a variety of secretarial tasks. Generally speaking, this career requires at least a bachelor's degree in medicine or a related field and two years' work experience. Some primary job duties of a verification specialist include scheduling appointments, storing patient files, answering questions, assisting patients with insurance paperwork and sending bills to patients.
One of the primary responsibilities of a verification specialist is scheduling appointments. Throughout the day, she might take calls and schedule patients for procedures like doctor visits and consultations. In most cases, she will input appointment time and patient information into a computer database. Consequently, it's beneficial for an individual to have considerable computer skills and organizational habits. Otherwise, conflicting schedules could create complications.
Another large part of this position revolves around storing patient files. Information like medical history, prescribed medications and insurance documents are often stored in a patient file. It's up to a verification specialist to properly classify and categorize all patient files within a filing system.
Answering a variety of questions is also part of this job. During the course of each day, a verification specialist may be required to answer questions over the phone or via email, refer patients to physicians, answer insurance inquiries or show visitors where to go within a facility. This aspect of the job requires a person to have a broad medical knowledge and be fully familiarized with physicians and facility layout. It's also beneficial to have a friendly demeanor and outgoing personality.
Along with this, it's common for a verification specialist to assist patients with insurance paperwork. When a patient doesn't fully understand all the details of an insurance form, it's her job to break things down into layman's terms. She will also be required to verify a patient's insurance coverage and may have to inquire into any conflicting information on an insurance form. Consequently, a verification specialist needs to have an in-depth understanding of health insurance and all legal requirements.
Additionally, it's often her responsibility to send bills to patients. It's usually up to her to prepare financial statements and send them to the appropriate person. In most cases, she will also make copies of each statement in case it needs to be viewed at a later time. Having a knack for accounting is often helpful for these tasks.