Audiology Assistant

To lead in clinic organization & assist clinic flow in the following: Contacting & scheduling patients as well as assisting the Audiology Manager/Audiologist while managing daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual office functions. The role includes both audiology support under the supervision of a licensed audiologist as well participating and assists indirectly with patient care including a clerical component. This role involves travel to the villages of the Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation where hearing care is delivered.

T he duties discussed here are to be maintained at the hospital, and remotely in the villages.

Qualifications

• Must be friendly, polite, and efficient, with excellent telephone and interpersonal etiquette.
• Must always hold a high quality of customer service, even under demanding situations.
• Normal medical office environment: this environment may involve dealing with a high volume of people and stressful situations requiring the ability to think clearly; respond quickly; and to be able to perform multiple tasks simultaneously. Periodic training and administration workshops and meetings specific to Audiology may be scheduled.
• Must be able to manage and balance multiple daily tasks and demands efficiently and perform duties independently.
• Must be able to care for people of all ages (e.g.: pediatric/adult/geriatric).
• Must have a high school diploma or GED.
• One year of office experience and clinic assistance support is preferred.
• Pursuit of ASHA audiology assistant certification (C-AA) will be encouraged and supported.
• Must have the drive and determination to learn and develop in the following areas:
• Basic principles, concepts, and methodology of Audiology and the ability to apply this knowledge independently.
• Basic medical and audiology vocabulary associated with hearing care.
• Ability to teach patients to insert, remove hearing aides.
• Knowledge of corporation policies and procedures.
  
  

Essential Functions

• Triages patients to determine the primary reasons for encounters within the audiology clinic.
• Schedules routine appointments for patients according to industry standards at Kanakanak Audiology.
• Schedules appointments for travel for patients as needed.
• Directs efficient patient flow and encounter delivery in the audiology clinic to meet patient needs.
• Communicates efficiently with physicians, insurance offices, outside referring & receiving providers, case management, WIC/ILP, registration, and any other personnel dedicated to coordinating patient care.
• Audiology Assistants may be required to document their various clinical activities by inserting procedure codes and test results into both the referring Physician’s office note and the patient chart for physician review, by updating and transferring demographic and audiological data into Cerner or audiology-based software.
• Audiology Assistant may perform checks on hearing aids, change tubing & perform basic repairs of hearing aids, and counsel the patient on care and use of their devices.
• Follows HIPAA compliance regulations.
• Corresponds directly with audiology vendors regularly for all office business matters.
• Assists with the maintenance of records and information to aid in preparing reports and organizing and submitting purchaser orders.
• Maintains the office in neat and orderly fashion.
• Handles and directs all office communications by phone, in person, or electronic media to assure patient care is orchestrated seamlessly.
• Travels to schools, village health clinics to assist the Audiologist in providing vision care services as assigned.
• Able to learn and develop skills in acquiring case history of patients.
• Assists in the training of new employees as needed that assure the clinic continues to run smoothly even in the absence of another team member.
• Other varied tasks include but not limited to :
• maintenance of office & test equipment,
• reviewing schedules and as necessary rescheduling patients on the Audiologist’s and/or Physician’s schedules to ensure an efficient clinic,
• cleaning of multi-patient use audiological supplies and devices
• daily disinfection of booth, chairs, transducers, etc.,
  
  

ordering of audiological supplies for test rooms.

• daily monitoring of voicemail
  
  

WORKING CONDITIONS: The position requires sitting, walking, standing, bending, and carrying heavy items such as travel cases with audiology equipment, files and sensitive testing equipment. Duties will be performed in the Audiology office of the Kanakanak Hospital. May include frequent trips to the outlying villages lasting 2-5 days per trip in a small unpressurized aircraft. Some heavier lifting during travel of up to 100 lbs.

POSITION TYPE/EXPECTED HOURS: This is a full-time position, and hours are generally Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours during village travel. Some weekends or evening hours may be necessary in emergency or weather hold situations. Attendance in accordance with the BBAHC Attendance policy is a job requirement