Patient Advocate, Medication Access Specialist job in Austin

Title: Patient Advocate, Medication Access Specialist        

Salary / Salary Range: $50k - $55k  

Employment Status:  Full-time    

Department: Clinical Services 

Supervisor: Assistant Director of Patient Advocacy 

Office: Clinic (3100 Red River, Austin, TX 78705) 

Target start date: November 8, 2024 

About the Organization:  

ASHwell is a sexual health and wellness center established in Austin, TX in the late 1980s.  We are passionately committed to diversity, equity, and belonging. We strive to provide a safe discrimination-free space for all and predominantly serve LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities. Our approach to sexual health and wellness is rooted in being proudly sex and kink positive, pro-sex worker, pro-harm reduction and anti-stigma. We are a growing organization looking for values-aligned, pro-sexual health and wellness people to join our team! 

Position Overview: 

The Patient Advocate, Medication Access Specialist will play a vital role in ensuring patient-clients' access to medications and financial assistance. They work closely with patient-clients to minimize no-show appointments, maximize patient-client retention, and support medication adherence. Additionally, they are the liaison between our clinic and pharmacies, insurance companies, and patient-client assistance programs. The Medication Access Specialist works to eliminate barriers to medical care and treatment adherence such as medication cost or transportation to an appointment. The Medication Access Specialist ensures that the patient-client receives all medication(s) prescribed by the patient-client’s provider. 

Core Responsibilities 

Prescription Coordination and Medication Tracking - 40% 

• Coordinates with Pharmacies to ensure patient-clients received their medication.  

• Communicates with health insurance providers to ensure that patient-clients receive the appropriate benefits.  

• Maintains a spreadsheet tracking medication access and detailing delivery of medications.  

Coordinating Patient-Client Appointments- 20% 

• Coordinates patient-client appointments and maintains a system for recording patient-client follow-up appointments, tracking no-show appointments, and monitoring the number of active patient-clients.  

• Contact patient-clients to remind them of upcoming appointments via phone calls, emails, or text messages, and provide any necessary instructions or information regarding their visit. 

• Handle requests to reschedule appointments, manage cancellations, and update the tracking spreadsheet. 

Financial Assistance - 20% 

• Enrolls patient-clients in foundation-based or pharmaceutical prescription assistance programs to ensure that PrEP/HIV/HCV medications are acquired at no cost to the patient-client.  

• Drafts “Care for All” Fund requests for other patient-client needs 

Assisting Patient-Clients with Paperwork – 10% 

• Assists patient-clients in filling out necessary paperwork, including medical history forms, consent forms, and other administrative documents. 

• Checks the accuracy of the information provided by patient-clients, ensuring that all required fields are completed correctly and consistently. 

• Gathers all necessary documents from patient-clients, such as identification, insurance cards, and medical records, and organize them for easy access by healthcare providers. 

• Keeps track of any additional paperwork or information needed, reminds patient-clients to provide missing documents, and follow up to ensure all necessary paperwork is completed in a timely manner. 

• Assists in completing prior authorizations, insurer records requests, insurance opt-out processes, and patient-client assistance programs. 

Baseline - 10% 

• Participates in all required staff meetings and retreats. 

• Maintains up-to-date calendar and work plan. 

• Utilizes agency-wide systems and protocols for all agency business. 

• Offers at least 24 hours' notice for internal meeting cancellations/rescheduling. 

• Maintains chain of command for internal communications.  

About You 

The ASHwell Patient Advocate, Medication Access Specialist is a detail-oriented initiative taker who thrives in a culturally sex positive and kink loving space. They are excited to be part of the movement to End the HIV Epidemic. They are passionate about expanding access to care and making sure that no one falls through the cracks in the system. Keenly aware of unique patient-client needs and challenges, the Patient Advocate is happy to walk a patient-client through whatever step is causing them difficulty. They are a detail-oriented person who easily form connections with those around them and has a gift for “getting everyone on the same page”.  They can connect their role and its responsibilities to the bigger picture of ASHwell’s mission.  

Required Qualifications:  

• Lives in Austin, TX or within the greater Austin Metro Area or willing to relocate. 

• Baseline understanding of gender pronouns, sex positive culture, and HIV de-stigmatization and/or willingness to learn. 

• Aligned with ASHwell’s values. 

• Exceptional customer service skills.  

• Strong communication and written skills, as well as a demonstrated ability to work effectively with diverse staff and populations.   

• Demonstrated ability to coordinate the provision of direct social services, problem-solve, and optimize service delivery systems.   

• Ability to work independently, multitask, and prioritize workload to meet deadlines   

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.    

• Ability to read, analyze, and convey complex information.  

Preferred Qualifications:  

• Experience working or volunteering in HIV/STI prevention or other community health programs, especially PrEP/PEP, HIV and or HCV treatment.   

• Bi-lingual English and Spanish speaking, including medical interpretation.   

• Experience working with EHRs.  

• Experience conducting Motivational Interviewing.    

Direct Reports:  

N/A  

Our Hiring Process