San Mateo County Health is seeking an experienced individual for the position of Medical Office Specialist-Public Health. Medical Office Specialists, under general supervision, provide difficult, technical, complex or specialized medical office support. This is the technical specialist level in the medical office support series. Responsibilities include the performance of specialized complex, technical medical office support work requiring the regular use of independent judgment and initiative.

The current vacancy is unclassified in the Public Health, Policy and Planning Division supporting the Bridges to Wellness Team based in South San Francisco, CA.

Bridges to Wellness
Bridges to Wellness is a care management program within Public Health Policy and Planning (PHPP) Division of San Mateo County Health, which provides intensive case management, care coordination, patient advocacy, and systems navigation to clients with high/complex needs. Bridges to Wellness strives to remove barriers that prevent clients with complex needs from accessing essential medical, behavioral health and social services. Bridges to Wellness staffing consists of 14 Care Managers (CMs), two Social Work Supervisors, Triage Nurse, Medical Director, and Health Services Manager I. In contract with the Health Plan of San Mateo (HPSM), Bridges to Wellness provides Enhanced Care Management (ECM) services, a new Medi-Cal benefit, to San Mateo’s most vulnerable and high need clients. The team uses a person-centered, recovery-oriented approach to care and the staff frequently provide services in the field.

Primary duties include:

• Process Notices of Authorization received from the Health Plan of San Mateo (HPSM). This includes admission of clients in Avatar electronic health record (EHR), assigning Care Managers, verifying insurance status, and uploading documents.
• Review reauthorization request denial letters received from HPSM and make appropriate corrections or determine the next steps.
• Keep track of a client list of pending/coming due reauthorization requests and follow-up with Social Work Supervisors and Triage Nurse for appropriate action.
• Verify reauthorization and authorization requests completed by Care Managers and the Triage Nurse for completeness and accuracy prior to submission to HPSM.
• Review reports or letters of claim denials and determine next steps which could include re-submission to HPSM.
• Process any other client referrals to Bridges to Wellness as received in a timely manner.
• Process client disenrollment’s and review and ensure that reasons for discharging clients are in compliance with Enhanced Care Management (ECM) requirements or Bridges to Wellness Policies.
• Keep track of overdue client assessments and care plans using an Avatar report and follow-up with Social Work Supervisors for appropriate action.
• Receive and upload client documents (Release of Information, consent to services) in the Avatar electronic health record.
• Keep track of overdue Release of Information and consent forms, and follow up for appropriate action.
• General office space management for Bridges to Wellness, including liaising with HPSM Facilities department as needed.
• Maintain confidential client files in compliance with Bridges to Wellness recording keeping policies;
• Supporting the team with Information Services Department (ISD) requests and following up to ensure tasks are completed.
• Support the team with scheduling meetings and taking minutes as needed.
• Manage the Bridges to Wellness message line by triaging questions, problems and messages.
• Manage the Bridges to Wellness Efax shared mailbox and direct messages appropriately.
• Receiving, sorting and distributing mail.
• Order and distribute of Office supplies from Amazon/Office Depot; and
• Perform related duties as assigned.

Incumbents oversee and personally perform a variety of medical office administrative details; organize and maintain departmental and client files/records; research and assemble information from a variety of sources; utilize basic business data processing principles and the use of word processing to type correspondence, reports, forms and specialized documents; enter and retrieve data; and operate standard office equipment.

The ideal candidate will have experience:

• Processing reauthorization requests including verifying for completeness and accuracy; and reviewing authorization request denial letters.
• Processing admissions and discharges in electronic health care record.
• Performing specialized office support work.
• Multi-tasking various assignments.
• Using Avatar or other electronic health record (EHR), extensive Microsoft Excel usage; and proficient in Microsoft applications particularly Word, Teams and PowerPoint.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

NOTE: The current vacancy is an unclassified position. Unclassified positions are at-will and render services on a temporary basis for a specified project. Benefits are equal to classified employees in the same job classification, but are not covered by Civil Service Rules. However, the eligible list generated from this recruitment may be used to fill future extra-help, term, unclassified, and regular classified vacancies.

Qualifications

Knowledge of:

• 
  Office administrative practices and procedures, including filing and the operation of standard office equipment.
• Basic business data processing principles and the use of word processing or personal computing equipment.
• Medical terminology as related to office support work.
• Policies and procedures related to the medical treatment or screening area to which assigned.
• Proper form for typed materials.
• Business arithmetic, including percentages and decimals.
• Correct English usage, including spelling, grammar and punctuation.
• Record keeping principles and procedures.

Skill/Ability to:

• Perform technical, specialized, complex or difficult medical office support work.
• Organize, prioritize and coordinate work activities.
• Read, interpret and apply rules, policies and procedures.
• Organize, research and maintain patient and general office files.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of the work.
• Compose routine correspondence from brief instructions.
• Make arithmetic calculations with speed and accuracy.
• Use initiative and sound independent judgment within established guidelines.
• Operate standard office equipment, including a word processor, personal or on-line computer, and centralized telephone equipment.

Note: Specific positions may require the ability to type at a rate of 40 net words per minute from printed copy.

Education and Experience:
Any combination of education and experience that would likely provide the required knowledge, skills and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to qualify is:

One year of journey-level office support experience in a medical office setting OR two years of general clerical or office assistant experience.

Application/Examination

Open and Promotional. Anyone may apply. Current County of San Mateo and County of San Mateo Superior Court of California employees with at least six months (1040 hours) of continuous service in a classified regular, probationary, Confidential and Management extra-help/limited term, and SEIU or AFSCME represented extra help/limited term positions prior to the final filing date will receive five points added to their final passing score on this examination.

Responses to the supplemental questions must be submitted in addition to our regular employment application form. A resume will not be accepted as a substitute for the required employment application and supplemental questionnaire.

The examination process will consist of an application screening (weight: pass/fail) based on the candidates' application and responses to the supplemental questions. Candidates who pass the application screening will be invited to a panel interview (weight: 100%). Depending on the number of applicants, an application appraisal of education and experience may be used in place of other examinations or further evaluation of work experience may be conducted to group applicants by level of qualification. All applicants who meet the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement through any subsequent phase of the examination. All examinations will be given in San Mateo County, California and applicants must participate at their own expense.

IMPORTANT: Applications for this position will only be accepted online. If you are currently on the County's website, you may click the "Apply" button. If you are not on the County's website, please go to https://jobs.smcgov.org/ to apply. Online applications must be received by the Human Resources Department before midnight on the final filing date.

~ TENTATIVE RECRUITMENT SCHEDULE ~
Final Date for Filing: December 27, 2022

The County of San Mateo may require that all employees provide proof of COVID-19 vaccine or comply with weekly COVID-19 testing. Employees hired into specified health care facilities and other high-risk settings where there is potential for frequent COVID-19 exposure to staff and highly vulnerable patients are required to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination. For more specific information, please refer to the County's COVID-19 Vaccine and Testing Policy.