Front Desk Receptionist

Job Summary

Front Desk Receptionists at West Michigan Dermatology are responsible for providing caring and personalized service as well as efficiently managing the patient flow in our busy practice.  Front office staff are self-motivated and able to multi-task while upholding our vision to provide compassionate service and exceptional care in their interactions with all patients.

Job duties and functions

• Greets patients warmly and professionally in person and over the phone.


• Completes the registration process including the verification of demographics and insurance information. Collect copays and outstanding balances as needed.


• Manages the patient flow by communicating with the patients and with the clinical teams on any issues which may affect the timeliness of the patient appointments. 


• As part of the check-out process; schedules follow-up care appointments and collects copays and outstanding balances due.


• Remains consistently productive by performing general administrative tasks such as: “chart prep”, emptying the shred bins, maintaining the image of the waiting room and restrooms, and distributing mail and interoffice documents as needed.


• Provides appropriate literature and patient education. This could include surgery or procedure information, laboratory billing processes, turnaround time on pathology tests, etc.


• Answers the phones and provides appointment scheduling, appointment cancellation, medical records and referral information.


• Follows HIPAA guidelines at all times to ensure that patient privacy is always protected.

• Maintains knowledge of departmental processes and protocols, participates in learning opportunities, all-staff training sessions, special projects, etc. as directed by the team leads or the site manager.

• Other tasks as requested by management.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities: 

• Excellent command of the English language including strong proficiency in English grammar, spelling, and punctuation.


• Able to use multiple computer applications simultaneously to document in the EMR, to verify insurance, to schedule appointments, collect copays, etc. 

• Must be computer literate with the ability to work with various computer systems such as EMR, word-processing and project management programs.

• Ability to listen, read, understand, and follow oral, and written instruction. 


• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely to patients both in person and over the phone.


• Able to work a multi-line phone.

• Demonstrates fiscal responsibility and recognizes the need for cost containment by following practices that minimize waste.

• Ability to establish and maintain positive relationships with employees, physicians, fellow employees, and managers. 

Education and certification requirements:

Highschool diploma required.  Associates degree preferred.

Environmental Working Conditions: 

Must be able to work in an office environment and sit at a desk for an extended period of time.  Must be able to work on a computer for 3-4 hours at a time. 

Physical Requirements: 

Physical demands are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to handle, or feel objects, tools or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl; talk or hear; taste or smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to focus. Requires visual acuity and normal color perception.

HIPAA/PHI Security Level: HIGH (Low, Medium, or High)

Indicate the security access level of Protected Health Information (PHI) as necessary to perform essential key responsibilities of the position (access, utilize, disclose, store, and/ or dispose of PHI).

1. Low –information access is of general nature representing summary type data rather than specific identifiable demographic or sensitive data.


2. Medium – information access is specific to an individual’s demographics and service information (type of service, services received, dates of service, and provider of service).


3. High – information access is detailed and sensitive to an individual’s demographics, service information, and personal medical history (past/present medical conditions, specifics of medical diagnosis or tests, treatment plans, and family history).

Benefits and Perks:

• Competitive compensation


• Health dental, vision benefits for fulltime employees


• Retirement package


• PTO accrual and holiday benefits


• Employee discounts on products and services


• An environment that encourages professional growth and development.

Special note: Due to the unique operational needs of our clinics, we may request that our employees work in a different site from the one they were originally scheduled in.  Sometimes these requests are planned and sometimes they are spontaneous and could be after the employee has reported to work for the day.  Reasons for these requests vary but they are mainly is to ensure coverage in case of high patient volume, unscheduled absences from other staff, etc.  Therefore, we require all our employees to have a valid and unrestricted driver’s license.  Mileage reimbursement will be paid in accordance with our Mileage Reimbursement Policy.

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.