A referral coordinator is a health-care administrative professional who schedules appointments, reviews insurance issues, and otherwise assists in the smooth operation of a medical practice. The coordinator may have additional administrative responsibilities or specialize in scheduling initial and follow-up appointments for new and returning patients, depending on the size of the practice. Other types of jobs can be described as “referral coordinators,” such as managing client referrals for a sales-oriented company. The coordinator in both cases should have excellent administrative and organizational skills.
A referral coordinator in the medical field is often in charge of taking calls from patients who need to schedule an appointment for medical services. In these situations, the coordinator may need to use his or her best judgment in prioritizing appointment requests and determining when it is appropriate to transfer the caller to a nurse or physician for more specific advice. The coordinator may also be in charge of following up with patients to schedule any additional appointments or tasks that are required to effectively manage the patient’s condition. He or she may also be in charge of working with insurance companies to ensure that treatments are approved before appointments are scheduled.
A high school diploma and some experience working in office administration are typically required to work as a referral coordinator in a medical setting. Smaller practices may want to hire a medical assistant to do both the work of a referral coordinator and provide basic health care services, and some employers may want the coordinator to have some formal training and background in health care office administration. In every case, the coordinator will need to be knowledgeable about health-care privacy and confidentiality laws.
A referral coordinator may be hired a company that is not in the health-care industry to perform other tasks. If a business relies on word-of-mouth advertising and rewards current customers for referring new business, an administrative employee will be required to screen referrals and develop a system for compensating those who make referrals to the company. Other office administration tasks may be assigned to the referral coordinator as needed the company. This type of referral coordinator’s skills are likely to be similar to those in the health-care industry, as they will need office skills as well as sales and marketing training and experience.